Tuesday, April 01, 2008

I Ain't No Chef, But...

Green Curry Recipe
Warning: You better know how to cook before you start to follow this recipe, because I do not use measurements - my only guide is my tongue, aided by the eyes. You'll need to be able to gauge and guess-timate and tweak as necessary, based on your own experience with cooking, to get this tasting the way you want it. If you need more stringent guidelines, stop reading right now cuz I won't be able to help you. Sorry.

Ingredients:
1 can of coconut milk (unsweetened)

1 small tin of green curry paste (in your local grocery's "ethnic food" section)
Meat of choice, cut into bite-sized pieces (I like chicken and I like salmon)
Long, green chillies, sliced (according to your level of tolerance - I use 3)
3 - 4 scallions, finely sliced
Garlic, minced
Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger root, well-minced
1/4 onion, finely sliced
ground pepper OR minced habanero peppers (as much as you can handle)
salt + 2 Maggi cubes (not those enormous ones that come from Mexico, but the perfectly-sized ones we get in Nig - for those with no frame of reference, I apologize - again.)

Need: Pan + Wok (frying pan will work just as well, I guess)

Prep:
1. If you're using chicken (or beef), stir-fry the meat with the garlic, ginger, onions and pepper first (and in a separate wok). Use just a splash of vegetable oil; you don't want this to be greasy. Add salt & 1 Maggi cube. Use medium-high heat and stir-fry until the chicken is just cooked, i.e. still a little pink in the middle. You'll have created some stock - it's cool. Let it be.

1b. If you're using fish, marinate the fish with a little bit of olive oil, the garlic, ginger, pepper, salt and some onion powder (or chop the 1/4 onion instead - whatever) for 15 - 30 minutes.

2. Pour the coconut milk into the pan and bring to boil; once it's boiled, turn heat down and let it simmer. DO NOT COVER THE PAN. Add the meat/fish (with stock), scallions, chillies and HALF the tin of green curry paste. You can use less or more; it's really going to depend on how you want it to taste. Play with the amount. Experiment. Live a little.

3. Let it simmer, leaving the flavors to cling and entwine, one to the other, like lovers under satin sheets. Taste it, you might need salt/the other Maggi cube.

All told, this shouldn't take more than 20 - 30 minutes, from setting up the cutting board to yummy-yummy-in-my-tummy. So simple, so delic. I like it with jasmine or basmati; their sweetness complements the heat from the chillies nicely. Lemme know if you like it!

(Fried rice recipe another day.)

8 comments:

Naapali said...

so is this what u fed Atuts that filled his tummy and addled his brain leading to his stammering when DCs finest decided to toy with him?

Does sound (do words on a page sound?) yummy though!

kulutempa said...

atutu didn't so much as drink water in my house (it was a no-food week), but we did dine at DC's finest wine bar/restaurant two nights in a row, so that made up for it :-)

Anonymous said...

i make stew. and rice. c'est finis.
i'll forward this to someone to whom it might be useful tho :)

RE: newspaper man: my excuse is that i've been- and still am- suffering in camp, so is it ok if i still write something, albeit rather late?

kulutempa said...

how late is "rather late"? definitely want you to write - let your NYSC angst propel you to pen and paper :-)

Anonymous said...

Good looking...I would definetly try it out and let you know how it turns out ;-)

Anonymous said...

dear kulutempa

your recipe is lovely.

why do you hate east africa?

- saul's friends :(

kulutempa said...

LOL! glad you liked the recipe...i don't HATE east africa...i just find it a bit bland. plus, as a nigerian, i'm bound to some degree of unfounded pride that puts west africa above all else, and nigeria above that! that being said, i'm absolutely in love with zanzibar island, and that counts as east africa :-). does that give you some peace?

Anonymous said...

haha. you actually replied? awesomeness! clearly, silliness *does* pay:) i can't wait to rub this in saul's face.

i totally get your point of view on EA. as it so happens, i was born in nigeria (in ile-ife to be precise)and i'm still convinced that my mother left 40% of her being back there, lol! i don't think she's ever quite recovered from having to let go of the charisma and energy and the all-around love for drama that she witnessed in nigeria. east africans (and certainly rwandans) are, by comparison, a rather dowdy bunch. i moved here for the first time a couple of years ago and having spent my formative years in south africa, i can assure you that it took a lot to adjust to the disturbing levels of calm here. BUT it's pretty and there is lots to gawk at (always a plus!) so if you ever feel like a quiet get-away, rwanda could be an option:)

all the best,
- saul's friends