Many people when they think of curry are thinking of Indian curry, which has more of a spice flavor - hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and is a richer, heavier taste which can tend to be overpowering. Thai curry, on the other hand, has a completely different taste - it is a light, fresh flavor which goes well with all kinds of meats and vegetables.
Ingredients for Thai green curry paste. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Thai curry paste is what provides this flavor, and it's actually pretty easy to make at home. I've made both red and green myself several times. They have different flavors, but many ingredients in common. Once made, you can keep in the fridge in a jar for several weeks, but if you're not going to use it that soon, it also freezes very well and will keep for a long time when frozen. My favorite way to store homemade curry paste is to scrape
it into ice cube trays and freeze - then pop the cubes in a ziplock bag, and you can use these easily when needed in recipes (one cube = about 2TB). If you are freezing the paste for storage, you don't need to cook it at the end as shown in the video (I've never cooked mine) - you will be cooking it anyway whenever you use it in a recipe. However, the cooking will help preserve it longer if you are storing it in the refrigerator instead of the freezer.
This video shows you each ingredient you will need for making your own Thai red curry paste, and how to prepare them. They also suggest some substitutions if you can't find all the ingredients. (I have used ginger in place of galangal, and red onions in place of the shallots. You can also use a few leaves of the cilantro, OR dried, ground coriander, instead of the stems.)
There are many different versions of Thai curry paste, but this is a good basic one to start with and will give you a great base for making a number of different Thai curry recipes, including the Red Thai Curry Fish we posted on Wednesday.
If you're looking to eat healthier this year, you may want to incorporate Thai food into your diet. Thai is one of my favorite cuisines - it features lots of bright, fresh flavors that come alive on your palate, without having to add much fat or sugar to your meals, and it's typically made with just a few, fresh, healthy ingredients, which are increasingly easy to find at just about any grocery store these days. Many Thai dishes include rice or noodles, but you can omit these, or choose from the plenty that don't, if you are following a lower carb diet.
This recipe uses Thai red curry (a distinctive flavor all on its own), coupled with fresh cilantro and tangy lime juice, which marry well with the light flavors of white fish (use sole, tilapia, cod, or other mild-flavored white fish for this recipe). Coconut oil and curry paste can be found in most supermarkets, in the Asian aisle. (Thai Kitchen is a major brand found just about everywhere, and it has a great flavor - but beware if you use this brand - it is VERY spicy! I would start with about half what it calls for in the recipe below, then add more if needed. If you make your own curry paste it's usually less potent, so you can use more. It's not that hard to make your own curry paste - check back Friday for a video showing how!) Fish sauce can be found in some supermarkets, and most Asian grocery stores. (The Squid brand is probably the most easy to find, but unfortunately doesn't have a great flavor, so I'd suggest a different one if you can find it.)
Thai Red Curry Fish
(Serves 4.)
A pack of red curry paste (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp red curry paste (or less)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp Asian fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
4 filets white fish
salt and pepper to taste
coconut oil for sauteing
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix together the red curry paste, vinegar, oil, cilantro, fish sauce, and lime juice; set aside.
Put an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat, add enough oil to saute fish - about 1 TB if using coconut oil.
Season the fish filets with salt and pepper to taste, then put in skillet when the oil is hot and cook until fish is browned lightly, then flip and cook until second side is browned; this will take about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake fish until thoroughly cooked and fish is flaky, about 8 to 10 minutes depending on thickness of the fish.
Remove the skillet from the oven, and pour the curry sauce over the fish in the skillet; let sit 1 minute.
