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Tag: lemon grass

Malaysian Style Pork Coconut Curry

If you are in the mood for a really, really yummy dish and don’t mind turning the oven on for a few hours- this recipe is for you… truly one of my favorites…I had a version of this at a yummy Singaporean restaurant in the city and I still dream of the yumminess….

  • 3 tablespoons peanut oil
  • 2-3 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 2 inch pieces with excess fat taken off
  • ½ cup all purpose flour
  • Salt
  • 1 star anise
  • 3 to 4 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 10 to 12 curry leaves

Spice Paste

  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 cup chopped shallots
  • 3 to 4 dried red chilies, seeds taken out and soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon shrimp paste (Asian store)
  • 2 lemongrass (white part), chopped

Process all spice paste ingredients in a food processor until a paste is formed. Keep aside.

  • 1 can full fat coconut milk
  • 3 to 4 cups chicken broth
  • 3 to 4 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
  • Salt
  • Sugar

Heat a large, heavy saucepan with the peanut oil. In the meantime, dredge the pork pieces in the flour and then sprinkle them with a bit of salt. Brown the pieces in the hot oil, in batches for at least 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Set the pork aside and add the star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick and curry leaves. Saute on medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the spice paste and sauté on medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the pork pieces, coconut milk and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer and cook with the lid on for at least 3 to 4 hours. Add the potatoes half an hour before serving. Reduce the gravy according to taste and serve with coconut rice.

 

Coconut Shrimp Curry- Thai Style

Thai Style Shrimp Curry

  • 1 pound jumbo shrimp, cleaned, deveined and sliced in half
  • 2 teaspoons tamari
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced

Place the shrimp, tamari and garlic in a zip lock bag. Marinate for 2 to 3 hours.

  • 2  tablespoons extra light olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, sliced thin
  • 2 stalks lemongrass, peeled and the insides minced- yields about ½ cup
  • 1 14 oz can light coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon palm sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
  • 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • ½ cup cilantro, chopped
  • Salt
  • ½ lime, juiced

Heat a wok like pan and add the olive oil. Add the marinated shrimp and sauté on high heat for a minute. Take out and keep aside.
Add the onions and lemongrass. Saute on medium high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tamarind concentrate, coconut milk, fish sauce, palm sugar and sriracha sauce. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the fresh basil, cilantro and shrimp. Cook for 2-3 minutes till the shrimp are cooked. Taste for seasonings, add salt and lime juice.

Chicken and Bok Choy Thai Green Curry

I think I am currently obsessed with Asian food.. I love it and love cooking it…You could buy a jar of green curry from the store or you could make your own.. the one from scratch is way yummier!!!

  • 2 chicken breasts, sliced thin
  • Zest of one lime
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil

Marinate the chicken slices in the lime zest, salt and oil. Mix well and let it sit for 2 to 3 hours.

Green curry

  • 2 to 3 fresh lemon grass stalks, trimmed, the ends smashed and chopped fine (I used frozen chopped lemon grass)
  • 2 inch piece of galangal, chopped (you can substitute with fresh 1 inch fresh ginger)
  • 2 to 3 kaffir lime leaves (substitute with zest of 1 lime)
  • Zest of 1 lime (use 2 limes all together if kaffir limes leaves are not being used)
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 serrano chili, deseeded and chopped
  • 1 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons salt

Place all the ingredients in a mortar and pestle. Pound till a paste is formed. Keep aside.

  • 2 tablespoons peanut oil
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons palm sugar or 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 2 teaspoons chili sauce (your favorite)
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 large red, orange or yellow pepper, sliced
  • 4 to 5 baby bok choy, sliced in quarters
  • ½ cup cilantro, chopped

Heat a saucepan with the oil. Add the curry paste and sauté on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the coconut milk, chicken broth, palm sugar, fish sauce and chili sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the chicken slices and poach on a medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a platter and keep aside. Continue to simmer and add the peppers and the bok choy. Cook for another 5 minutes. Return the chicken back to the curry and finish cooking, making sure the chicken is not over cooked. Garnish with cilantro.

Coconut Rice

Kumquat Chicken The rice dish goes really well with the kumquat chicken I posted yesterday. Since it had so much flavor, I wasn’t looking for a starch that would compete with the protein. I knew I wanted to serve the chicken dish with rice and coconut kept coming to mind- especially because Spice Market in NYC serves  Thai inspired food.. and when I think of Thai, coconut comes to mind.

I saved all the lemongrass stalks and kaffir lime mixture from the dressing for the chicken and added it to the coconut milk. I let the milk simmer with the aromatic herbs till it reduced down to two cups. This ensured tons of flavor… yum!! I added jasmine rice to the delicious broth and cooked the rice.

It is amazing how delicious the rice was- I could make a meal out of it- just the rice. I obviously tasted amazing with the chicken dish. Try this rice dish with any Asian inspired dish- you will never make plain rice again…
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