Thai Country Curry

This Thai Country Curry, Gaeng Bah, is one of my favorite Asian dishes.  It is especially good on one of those days when you have been eating too much meat lately.The main ingredient is Japanese eggplant, those skinny purple ones, and it has just a bit of pork for flavor.The recipe is very flexible -- make it spicy or not, add different vegetables like corn, summer squash, or, if you must, snow peas.

Thai Country Style Curry (Gaeng Bah)

Served with jasmine rice, this spicy Thai dish makes a hearty one-dish meal. It is a flexible dish -- feel free to add other vegetables like corn or summer squash, or snow peas. Add delicate vegetables at the same time as the basil and chiles. You may also substitute beef for the pork.

Yield: Six servings.

Ingredients For the Stock 2 cups chicken stock 3 green onions 6 kaffir lime leaves, torn 2 stalks lemon grass, lower portion smashed and cut into 1 inch lengths 6 black peppercorns 2 cups water, approximately For the Curry 3 Tbs vegetable oil 2-3 Tbs red curry paste 1 Tbs red chili paste 1/2 lb trimmed pork shoulder, sliced into thin strips 1 1/2 by 3/4 inches the stock 3 Tbs fish sauce 1 1/2 Tbs palm sugar (may substitute turbinado or white cane sugar) 2 unpeeled Japanese eggplants, in 1-inch dice (about 3-4 cups) 15 green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths handful fresh graprao basil leaves, or other fresh basil leaves 6 kaffir lime leaves, torn 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into long thin strips 1-2 serrano chiles, sliced thinly on diagonal chopped cilantro, for garnish

How to Make Prepare the Stock 1  Simmer the stock, green onions, 6 torn kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass and peppercorns for about 15 minutes. Strain into a 4 cup measuring bowl, and discard solids. Add enough water to stock to bring to 4 cups. Prepare the Curry 1  In a large saucepan over low heat warm the oil until hot but not smoking. Add the curry paste and chili paste. It should sizzle, but not spit and pop wildly; if it does, remove from the heat for a moment. Press and stir the paste into the oil and cook until fragrant, about 3 or 4 minutes. 2  Add the meat and stir fry to brown and coat with paste. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat absorbs most of the paste and oil and becomes shiny. 3  Add the stock and bring the curry to a boil. Add the fish sauce and sugar, the eggplant, and the green beans. Cook for a few minutes until the vegetables are barely done. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil, remaining 6 lime leaves, and red pepper strips and green chiles. Cover and let stand for about 7 minutes. Add additional fish sauce, to taste. 4  Serve with jasmine rice, and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Author: Adapted from Real Thai, by Nancie McDermott

Mexican Food Heroes

Diana Kennedy and Rick Bayless are my Mexican food heroes.

Chiles Stuffed with Picadillo

Made these chiles poblanos (the dark one), anaheims (long green one), and jalapenos (small one) stuffed with picadillo yesterday, and I would have to say I am pretty proud of how they turned out.  I served them over a tomato-chile sauce, with mexican rice, and a really good, simple salad that Kathy made -- romano, avacado, and parmesan cheese  with a simple vinaigrette.


Roasting and peeling the chiles takes a little time but is really simple.  Just put them under the broiler turning occasionally until the skin blackens, then put into a plastic bag for a while.  The skin can then be rubbed off with a paper towel.

The picadillo filling is a flavorful mix of beef, tomatoes, herbs and spices, raisins, olives, and capers that can also be used as a filling for empanadas or enchiladas.  The recipe comes from Diana Kennedy, one of the leading experts on Mexican food --  I think of her as the Julia Child of Mexican cooking.


The tomato-chile sauce recipe comes from Rick Bayless, who owns Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago, my favorite Mexican restaurants anywhere in the USA. 

I chose not to batter and fry the chiles because I was thinking healthy, and wanted to avoid the mess, and mainly because I was just too lazy.  Instead, I just baked them at 375° until they were piping hot.

I love the battered and fried chiles, but these turned out so good that I think I will leave the frying to restaurants in the future.  

Recipes follow. Great way to spend a Saturday afternoon when you are just hanging around the house!

Picadillo

Apart from chiles, this stuffing can be used for enchiladas and tamales. Some cooks prefer to use a variety of meats or one or the other of pork, beef, or chicken. Any leftover stuffing can be frozen.

Yield: About 4 1/2 cups.

Ingredients 3 Tbs melted lard or vegetable oil 1 medium white onion, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped 1 ¼ lb tomatoes, finely chopped 3 black peppercorns, crushed 3 cloves, crushed ½ tsp dried thyme or 1 t. fresh leaves ½ tsp dried marjoram or 1 t. fresh leaves 1 Tbs dried Oaxacan oregano leaves or ½ T. Mexican oregano 2 Mexican bay leaves or 1 bay laurel, finely crumbled ½ cup raisins, roughly chopped 20 almonds, skinned and roughly chopped 1 Tbs large capers, roughly chopped 10 green pitted olives, roughly chopped 3 cup meat (pork, beef, chicken or mixture), cooked, shredded and chopped Approximately ½ c. reserved meat broth 1 Tbs pineapple or other fruity vinegar (optional) Salt to taste 2 Tbs sugar, or to taste

How to Make 1  Heat the lard in a wide pan or deep skillet and fry the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the tomatoes and fry over fairly high heat until reduced and thickened. 2  Stir in the herbs, spices, raisins, almonds, capers, and olives and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. The mixture should be fairly dry. Add the meat and the rest of the ingredients and continue cooking until all the ingredients are well combined. The mixture should be moist, not juicy, and shiny.

Author: Diana Kennedy Source: Oaxaca al Gusto, published by University of Texas Press

Quick-Cooked Tomato-Chile Sauce

Quick and easy, and very good. Great with Chiles Rellenos.

Yield: about 2 cups

Ingredients 1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes, boiled or roasted, peeled and cored OR 1 28 ounce can good quality tomatoes, drained Fresh hot green chiles to taste (roughly 3 to 5 chiles serranos or 2 to 3 chiles jalapenos) stemmed 1/2 small onion, chopped 1 large garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped 1 tbs lard or vegetable oil salt, about 1/2 teaspoon

How to Make 1  The tomatoes: For a more refined sauce, seed the tomatoes. Roughly chop the tomatoes and place in a blender or food processor. 2  The puree: If you want a milder sauce, first seed the chiles. Then chop them into small bits and add to the blender or processor, along with the onion and garlic. If using a blender, stir to distribute the ingredients evenly, then process the mixture until pureed ( but still retaining a little texture). 3  Frying the sauce: Heat the lard or oil in a medium-large skillet over medium-high. When it is hot enough to make a drop of the puree really sizzle, add it all at once and stir constantly for about 5 minutes, as the puree sears and cooks into a thicker, more orange-colored sauce. Season with salt and remove from the fire.

Author: Rick Bayless Source: Authentic Mexican - Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico