Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Greenmarket

Well after the fun I have been having, I needed to get my head thinking project-wise! With such success with the Thai curry last week, I thought I'd give it another go!

108. DIY: Make your own curry paste - *Thai*
109. Thai Vegetable Curry (summer) - *Thai*

I didn't get to make my own curry paste in Florida, so I took the opportunity to make one tonight.

I decided on 'Green' since the Red tends to be pretty spicy, and I was keen on some variation.

The following ingredients go into a food processor: green chillies, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves, cumin, turmeric, coriander (the spice, not herb), garlic and soy sauce. Since I was keeping it veggie I used soy sauce instead of fish sauce or shrimp paste. I really don't like the taste of either, so the veggie version works for me!


The result, erm, was not so much green as brown with specks of green. I think that has to do with the fact that the soy sauce colored it.


This curry paste will be good for a little while, so look out for it in future curries!

With the paste done, I could now focus on the actual curry, and thus the reason for my post title. I didn't exactly go shopping at Greenmarket in the city, but my ingredients for the curry looked like all shades of green, I was quite impressed!

The hardest part of the curry was the chopping. So, I heated up some vegetable oil in a wide pan, and then I added some sliced zucchini, spring onions and mangetouts.


Oops, forgot the bean sprouts!! Oh, here they are! Sike!!!!


Then, I added the curry paste and a little bit of coconut milk to get the veggies covered. I added the rest of the coconut milk, some water, soy sauce, sugar, lime leaves and lime juice. I let the veggies simmer until tender, and added just a tad more salt to taste.

I garnished the top of the curry with parsley and served it up with some lime-infused rice.


As lovely as this was, I just wasn't hungry for some reason. I am not sure why -- but I did manage to finish my bowl. It was really delicious, and while eating it, I couldn't help being proud of myself for making a Thai curry from start to finish, down to the homemade curry paste. That was cool!

Well I have a little bit left for lunch tomorrow which goes along great with my I-refuse-to-be-poor initiative!

Oh, almost forgot, I did have a bit of room for dessert -- Rafa's cheesecake that I baked for him. Scrummy!

2 comments:

Lisa said...

Aww, Rafa got his cheesecake! Wonderful! Hey, Ilana, was that green curry "really hot?"

Lady M said...

Enough to clear my sinuses, G! But I admit it would have been mild for you and X!!! Crazies! LOL.