This is what I did with my curry paste.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp red curry paste
2 lime leaves, fresh, torn into thirds (I only had dried, which didn’t really bother me, but it probably made a difference. I, however, am none the wiser)
Sauce:
5 tbsp water
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari)
1 tsp sugar
8 oz squid, cut into 1″ rounds (wash the squid and remove the inside cartilege, if applicable)
1 bunch of bok choy (separate the dark green sections from the bottom white sections since you’ll add these at different times. Tear apart each segment of the vegetable, like tearing celery from the stem, and wash the inside and outside of each piece well)
1 can bamboo shoots (drained and rinsed with cold water to remove salt. You can even soak the shoots and the palms below in cold water until you’re ready to use them, and then drain them again. This gets rid of even more canning sodium)
1 can hearts of palm (yeah, I kind of changed this recipe to include these things. The bamboo was called for, but I just love hearts of palm, and bok choy goes well in just about any kind of stir fry. Drain and rinse the hearts of palm as well)
1 red pepper (half cut into squares, half cut into strips)
A large handful of fresh basil leaves
First, make rice. You need to start it now to have it done in time.
Chop everything in advance!!! Then combine the sauce ingredients (water, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar):
Heat the oil on HIGH heat!!! So don’t use olive oil or another oil that will burn. Canola is good, vegetable oil is good. Sunflower oil and safflower oil are both fine.
When the oil is almost smoking add the red curry paste and the lime leaves. Stir for 20 seconds (carefully, and isolate the stirring to one small, donut-sized area of the frying pan. This will help keep the paste from spreading out too much and burning because you skimped on oil) and then add the water and white parts of the bok choy. Reduce the heat to medium and stir and cook for 2 minutes.
Now add the combined fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar and stir for 30 seconds. Add the squid, bamboo shoots, hearts of palm and red pepper squares. Turn the heat up to high, and stir and cook for 1 minute. Add the green parts of the bok choy and cook for one more minute.
Now add half of the basil leaves and remove the pan from the heat. Stir it to integrate the basil, and then serve on top of plain white rice (preferably Thai jasmine). Garnish with the remaining basil and the the red pepper strips.
This was delicious, mostly because I am obsessed with bamboo shoots and hearts of palm. They don’t taste like anything in particular, since they’re really not that great canned, but that’s oddly what I love about them. They’re a great, soft texture and not sour or bitter. The hearts of palm were a bit acidic, but they shredded nicely, like fake crab does, and seemed thicker, like noodles. The squid was not over-cooked, miraculously. As it got left in the hot pot after I served the first bowl, it got over-cooked, but my first mouthfuls were perfect. The red curry paste was really the downfall. I don’t think it was very pungent. I had used lots of fresh chilies, but it still tasted bland. There was a little heat but not a lot of flavour. I think the shrimp paste would have helped, but I can’t blame those sea insects for everything. Next time I’ll follow the recipe exactly and see how I fare. The paste only keeps a week in the fridge, apparently, since there’s no oil or vinegar, so I don’t have long to find out. Thank goodness for ice cube trays and freezers.
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