Radiance Recipes » Thai

Thai Green Curry with Coconut & Lemon Rice

Kiran — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:30:35 +0000

I fell in love with the wonderfully fresh, aromatic and spicy Thai food, whilst on honeymoon in Thailand. We went to a beach restaurant in Koh Samui and being vegetarian we were well looked after. It was reassuring to know the pots and pans were well cleaned in our view before preparing our food but it meant our food always took longer to prepare.
While we were there we were told that the authentic food is very spicy, so this is a challenge to me as I love spicy food. Towards the end of our honeymoon, in Phuket we went to another beach side restaurant. I asked for the real authentic green curry that the locals would have, to this I was told we would not be able to handle it !! It was a great curry for me I just loved it , on the other hand even though my dear husband had it, it was too much for him and as a result he needed a few glasses of drinks to cool him down.

With Thai food the way in which the food is prepared and served is very interesting as it shows that, if you add the correct ingredients at the right time into the curry you get the most of the herbs and spices and that adds to the flavour and entire eating experience. It not only is a fantastic treat to the taste buds but also the eye as all the food is carved and looks beautiful, even the pineapple served after every meal was cut up in such away that you just wanted to leave it rather than eating it up.

The inspiration for my vegetarian version has been created by basing it on a Tarla Dalal recipe as well as looking at ingredients on ready made jars of curry paste and from TV shows. I put more lemon grass and coriander in the paste and less coconut in the curry, or as I did this time, none at all as the rice had coconut milk. This is a great curry to have if you like spicy food, and would like a change from Indian food and don’t quite fancy Chinese.

Thai Green Curry with Coconut & Lemon Rice

You can use what ever vegetables you have at hand, I like to use as many green vegetables as possible and a few to just add a splash of colour like the red capsicums, baby corn and mushroom. If you do not have or like tofu then you can use either paneer or leave it out. Do not be put off by the long list of ingredients, as mentioned before you can pre prepare the paste and freeze it which makes it much easier to have a green curry when ever the moods takes you there.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 30 mins Cooking time: 30 mins Serves: 4

For the Green Curry Paste

10 green chillies chopped

6 cloves of garlic chopped

1 onion chopped

3/4” piece of ginger (or to make it more authentic use galangal)

1 1/2 cups chopped coriander (with stalks)

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

4 stalks of lemon grass, bruised and chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp ground coriander (dhana)

2 tbsp ground cumin (jeeru)

* Grind into a fine paste using a pestle & mortar or food processor, with a little water. Keep aside*

NB This makes 1 cup of paste, if you are in the mood to have a spicy curry use all for one curry otherwise use half.

2 tbsp sunflower oil

1 courgette chopped

1 each green & red capsicum

5 or 6 chestnut mushroom (or button) quartered

1 cup each sugar snap peas & baby corn chopped into 1 cm pieces

1 carrot sliced

1 cup savoy cabbage shredded

2 cups of water

1 tsp salt

300 g firm tofu cubed

For Coconut & Lemon Rice

2 cups rice

100 g coconut cream

1 tsp salt

4 to 5 cups of hot water

juice of 1 lemon

Method

1) Make the paste for the green curry and boil the water. Chop the vegetables for the curry.

2) Heat a heavy bottom pan on medium heat, add the oil and paste and cook for a few minutes, stirring to ensure that the paste does not stick and all the aromas are released from the ingredients in the paste.

3) Add the capsicums and cook for a further few minutes, add the vegetables and salt and coat them in the paste and cook until they start to get tender. Add the water and cook for about 20 mins or until the vegetables are cooked.

4) While that is cooking, heat another pan on medium heat and place the rice and coconut cream and sauté for a few minutes. Add the hot water and salt and cook until the rice is ready and water is evaporated roughly 15 mins. Once cooked switch off heat and squeeze the lemon juice, mix and let it rest a few minutes before serving.

5) Check that the vegetables are cooked and add the tofu, mix and simmer for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Thai Gold Bags

Kiran — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:36:20 +0000

Wonderful crisp pastry filled with a combination of sweet, tangy and toasted flavours are a wonderful taste explosion on the taste buds. I first tried this recipe a couple of years back for a Thai themed New Year’s Eve party. I changed the filling slightly to what the original recipe had. You can create any type of oriental filling you like. The original recipe had mashed potatoes, grated carrots and toasted peanuts. I used sweet potato as to me it is a good vegetarian alternative to salmon (in colour, I would not know about taste being a vegetarian ! ). I would say stick to a mash as it makes it easier to create the bags. The trick is in the folding technique, a few tries and you should have a method that works for you.

Gold Bags

These can be created the night before, covered with a damp cloth and stored in the fridge, ready to be fried the following day. If you have the time and patience you can tie each bag after frying with a thin blade of lemongrass.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 1hr Cooking time: 30 mins Makes: 25 to 30 bags

8 sheets of frozen spring roll pastry

1 large sweet potato (approx 225g)

2 tbsp chopped coriander

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 large clove of garlic crushed

50 g desiccated coconut, dry toasted

Oil for deep frying

* Make a smooth paste of 4 tbsp of plain flour and 1 or 2 tbsp of water *

Method

1) Defrost the pastry sheets and keep covered in a damp cloth so as they do not dry out.

2) Peel and cook the potato in a little water, I normally do this in the microwave, on simmer for 10 / 12 mins. Once cooked, remove any excess water and mash with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well, cool for 10 mins or until ready to use.

3) Cut the pastry sheets into 4 squares ( 3” square), place a teaspoon of the sweet potato mixture in the centre and about 1 cm away make a circle with the flour paste (you may need to make more of the paste), make sure that you have a thick layer as this is what ensures that the bags do not open when frying.

4) To make the bags pick 2 opposite corners together and then pinch the rest to the centre to create a small bag. Try not to pull together as this will tear the pastry, just be gentle but firm. Place the finished bags in a tray ready to be fried, if you are not going to fry them straight away then cover them with a damp cloth making sure that the pastry does not dry out.

5) Once all the bags are complete, deep fry on a medium heat, until golden brown, turn once for even cooking. They are ready to be served with a sweet chili sauce or any other dip of your choice. Best eaten warm.

Thai Pineapple Rice

Kiran — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:11:04 +0000

Like all other exotic fruits I love pineapples and have always had it raw. When you cook it, the taste and texture changes completely. This recipe brings out the flavour despite the use of spices. Do not be put of by the list of ingredients, just break it down and it is a simple step by step recipe. I normally make a batch of the lemongrass paste and freeze it, so as I can use it when ever I want to flavour anything. Doing this make its much easier to tackle this recipe as all the other ingredients are part of my spice rack. Aromatic and full of flavour, this recipe is worth a try.

Thai Pineapple Rice

Add the salt when cooking the rice, this will ensure that the seasoning is mixed well. You can use chilli flakes if you do not have dried red chillies. I use ready to use coconut cream which comes in a block form, however you can get cans of coconut cream.

Ingredients

Preparation:- 40 mins. Cooking time:- 20 mins. Serves 2

1 Fresh pineapple

4 cups cooked rice

1 cup coconut cream

3 onions chopped

1 green chilli chopped

4 tbsp yellow curry paste

4 tbsp raisins

4 tbsp roasted cashew nuts

4 tbsp butter

1 tsp sugar

salt to taste

For the Yellow Curry Paste

1 tbsp cumin seeds, roasted

1 tbsp coriander seeds, roasted

3 to 4 stalks of lemongrass, chopped

1/2 tbsp grated ginger

1 dried red chilli, deseeded

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 small onion chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp salt

Method

1) Wash the rice several times in warm water, and leave to soak in water. In the mean time chop the pineapple, cutting it half length ways, then score a grid in it about 2cm cubes and scoop out the flesh.

2) Cook the rice in boiling salted water, this should take about 10 mins as the rice was soaked. Make the paste while the rice is cooking.

3) For the paste first dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds for around 2 minutes (you should be able to smell the aroma), place into a food processor or grinder. In the same pan roast the cashew nuts and keep aside for later. Place all the other ingredients and grind to a fine paste, you can add a few spoons of water if needed to create the paste.

4) Strain the cooked rice and rinse under cold water to remove the starch, keep aside.

5) In a wok heat the butter (you can use oil if you wish), add the onions and green chilli and fry till soft. Add the yellow curry paste and fry for a further 1 or 2 minutes. Then add the pineapple pieces and coat with the paste mixture. After a minute add the coconut cream and sugar, let it cook so as the liquid has reduced and almost evaporated.

6) Add the cooked rice, raisins and cashew nuts, mix well ensuring all the rice is coated with the pineapple mixture. Spoon the rice mixture into the empty pineapple shells, serve hot garnished with chopped coriander.