Thai curry powder (green, yellow, red will do)
1 can coconut milk
chilly oil
basil leaves
Inlarge pot boil carrots and potatoes first, then add cauliflower, onions, and mushroom.
Then dump curry powder according to package. Add little by little and taste as you go along. Then add coconut milk and basil leave. Cook for another minute then serve.
try this, get kind of coconut milk that seperates into cream and water–not concentrated–“cock” brand found at thai groceries is one good one. take care not to shake, spoon cream into wok and save water (should be about half can or little less.) fry this on medium heat with curry paste, constantly scraping, until oil comes out. (5 min) fry onions in this, when translucent add coconut water, boil, then add other ingredients (i boil them on side first in minimum amount of water and add whole thing)
And what will you put inside 914? yuk yuk. Couldn’t resist…
Curries, in my opinion, are better when you separate the cream from the milk, boil the cream until the oil separates, then fry your firm veggies and/or meats in that, fast. Add the softer veggies later, as a finishing touch. Lite coco milk is the last thing to go in. I used to cook Indian style curries, but since my short visit to a Thai cooking school, I have changed my mind.
I like to curry those darn Chinese sausages that my students keep bringing me in a Malaysian yellow curry paste that I get at the local restaurant supply place. I usually add a lot of eggplant and potato.
I also get those thin pita things that the breakfast stores cook your dan bings in, and flash fry them in my wok at a high heat with a splash of water and a splash of oil. They puff up and can be folded into hot little bready things. Perfect for a bowl of nice curry.
But how about using coconut cream instead of coconut milk?
I think coconut cream is actually better for any kind of curry, especially Thai-style ones.
Coconut cream is available in cans at Wellcome and RT Mart.
And, 914, I prefer a curry paste to a curry powder. I think a paste gives more flavor to the curry. Of course, making your own curry paste (with a mortar and pestle) would be ideal, but I don’t have the time for that these days.
In Thai curries, the coco cream goes in first at high heat until the oil separates. Then you add ingredients in a certain order. Then you finish with seasonings and coco milk. It takes longer to prep this than it does to cook it (about 8 minutes). I like this because I used to make Indian style curries (my ex is from Calcutta) that involved a lot of butter and oil, and you could cook the thing on a low heat all day long if you wanted to, adding ingredients when you found the time to chop them up.
The thai way is a lighter, healthier way, and in my opinion (when you get it right) a more delicate, fragrant meal.
The indian way is more like a stew. Heavy, filling, chunky and very delicious also.
My friends like My Indian style curries a lot, but I think with some more practice I will win them over to the Thai way.
