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I really appreciate a recipe where the sauce is the best part of the dish. Butter chicken? Yes, please, I’ll take a bowl of sauce and a piece of naan for dipping. And the wine-infused gravy from my family’s chicken and mushrooms is basically liquid gold, perfect for dunking chunks of crusty bread.
I’d put coconut-based Thai curries in the same category. Give me a generous pour of curry liquid — red, yellow or green — and a plate of jasmine rice, and I’m a happy camper.
You’ll agree once you take a slurp of this green curry from cookbook author Leela Punyaratabandhu. Of course, what makes the sauce is the curry paste, and you’ll need a good one, preferably from Thailand.
I can appreciate the impulse to make your own paste, and initially that’s what I wanted to do with Punyaratabandhu’s recipe. But after a couple of fruitless calls to my local Asian markets and largely striking out online (makrut limes are especially hard to come by), I decided to take Punyaratabandhu up on her suggestion that commercial pastes are the best way to get the traditional flavors if you can’t acquire the right ingredients to make your own. Plus, at only a few bucks for a whole container, it’s a cheaper upfront investment than buying everything individually, particularly if you’re not sure you’d use up all the components. Asian markets and some well-stocked grocery stores carry curry pastes from Thailand. Brands to look for include Mae Ploy, Maesri, Pantai, Nittaya and Lobo. Maesri, for example, is available at some Wegmans, and some Targets carry Mae Ploy.
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One other ingredient note: If you can’t find round green Thai eggplants, which should be at most Asian markets and even some farmers markets, I tested the recipe with halved and sliced long Asian eggplants. They cooked up softer than the Thai variety, which wasn’t necessarily bad, but you may want to knock back the cooking time a bit to account for the difference.
Once you have your ingredients in hand, it’s pretty much smooth sailing with this one-pot meal that comes together in just about an hour. The beef (boneless, skinless chicken thighs work well, too) essentially poaches in the aromatic, rich liquid. That leaves the meat beautifully tender and also means it infuses the broth as much as the broth infuses it.
As to that broth, it includes coconut three ways — oil, milk and cream (the solids that rise to the top of a can of coconut milk, don’t mistake it for cream of coconut). Low-fat this is not, but you can certainly control how much liquid you include in your portion, even though it’s pretty hard to resist. If you do manage to end up with extra, you’ll be left with a next-day treat that I can confirm is fantastic on its own poured over rice, or any other grain or stir-fry your heart desires.
Recipe note: You’ll need two 14-ounce cans of coconut milk for this dish. For the cream, skim off the thick top without stirring. For the milk, stir the contents of the can together to incorporate.
The passage you shared is a flavorful exploration of various sauces and dishes, from butter chicken and wine-infused gravies to coconut-based Thai curries. My expertise in culinary arts and diverse cuisines allows me to delve into the intricacies mentioned in the article.
Let's break down the key concepts and elements present:
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Sauces as Highlighted Components: The article emphasizes the importance of sauces in dishes like butter chicken, wine-infused gravy, and coconut-based Thai curries. It highlights the sauce as a central, delicious element that often steals the show in these recipes.
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Culinary Ingredients and Essentials:
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Curry Paste and Its Importance: The discussion revolves around the significance of quality curry paste in making authentic Thai curries. It touches upon the challenge of finding specific ingredients like makrut limes and Thai eggplants for the paste and suggests commercially available brands like Mae Ploy, Maesri, Pantai, Nittaya, and Lobo as suitable alternatives.
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Thai Eggplants and Variations: The recipe adapts to the use of alternative eggplants when the specific Thai variety is unavailable, indicating that the cooking time might need adjustment.
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Coconut Milk and Cream in Curries: The recipe calls for coconut oil, milk, and cream in the green curry, highlighting the richness they add to the dish. It advises on the distinction between cream of coconut and the solid portion of coconut milk.
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Cooking Techniques and Recipes:
- One-Pot Meals: The mentioned recipe for "Kaeng Khiao Wan Nuea (Green Curry With Beef and Thai Eggplant)" is a one-pot meal where the beef poaches in a rich, aromatic liquid. It emphasizes the tenderness of the meat due to this cooking method and the infusion of flavors between the broth and the beef.
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Recipe Guidance and Tips:
- Ingredient Availability and Substitutions: The article offers tips on finding ingredients, suggests alternatives, and provides guidance on adjustments if certain elements are unavailable.
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Portion Control and Leftovers: It mentions the richness of the dish due to the coconut ingredients and advises on portion control. Additionally, it highlights the versatility of the leftover sauce, suggesting it as a delicious addition to rice or other stir-fries.
Each of these elements contributes significantly to the depth and flavor profile of the dishes mentioned. They showcase the diversity and nuances within the world of sauces and cuisines, catering to various tastes and preferences.
