Potatoes, Peas and Green Beans in Coconut Red Curry Sauce

Jason created this dish to accompany my stir fried vegetables with lemongrass. I love the amazing variety of flavor profiles there are in thai cooking. We managed to use up the rest of the coconut milk from Sunday's peanut sauce for the spring rolls, and we have leftovers for several more meals. Both of these dishes were incredibly simple but lovely and complex in flavor.

2 yukon gold potates, peeled and cut into large cubes
1/2 - 3/4 pound green beans
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 very large onion, sliced
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 Tablespoons red curry paste

• Cover the potatoes with water and boil until fork tender. Drain.
• In a large pan, saute the onion in a little oil until softened
• Add the curry paste and cook for another 2-3 minutes
• Add the beans
• Add the coconut milk and peas and simmer on low about 5 minutes
• Add the potatoes and heat through

Stir Fried Vegetables with Lemongrass

Inspired by our Thai cooking yesterday, and the lemongrass and coconut milk I now had on hand, I decided to try this recipe from The  Food & Wine Annual Cookbook: An Entire Year of Recipes 2010.


I was thrown off initially by the coconut milk - soy sauce combination but it was an amazingly savory combination. A nice, healthy vegetarian meal, perfect when paired with Jason's potatoes, peas and green beans in red curry and coconut milk.

STIR FRIED VEGETABLES WITH LEMONGRASS

2 stalks of lemongrass, tender inner white bulb only
3 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 very large shallot thinly sliced
3/4 of a head of cauliflower cut into small florets (about 1 pound)
12 asparagus spears, cut on the diagonal into 1 inch slices
1 red bell pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
2 medium carrots, shredded
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup sliced basil

Jasmine rice for serving

• Heat oil in a large skillet
• Add the shallots and lemongrass and saute over high heat until the shallots start to brown, about 2 minutes 
• Add the cauliflower, asparagus, bell pepper and carrot along with 1/2 cup of water and cook over medium-high until the vegetables are crisp tender, about 3 minutes
• Stir in the coconut milk, soy sauce, and 1/4 cup water and bring to a simmer until cauliflower is perfectly cooked
• Remove from the heat and add black pepper
• Stir in the basil
• Serve over rice

Green Beans in Black Bean Sauce

Inspired by the wrinkle beans at Urban Belly.

1 pound green beans
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
Olive oil
Black bean sauce (approx 2 ounces, enough to coat the beans)

• Clean the beans
• Saute the garlic and ginger in olive oil over medium heat
• Add the beans and cook until tender crisp
• Add black bean sauce, cooking for 3-4 minutes and tossing to coat the beans

Thai Beef Salad

This recipe is from My Grill by Australian Pete Evans. We brought this dish, along with my favorite spring rolls, and green beans in black bean sauce, to our good friends' house for a belated birthday celebration. The meal was a hit, the only downside, no leftovers!

Thai Beef Salad

Salt & pepper
1 pound filet
1 box asian brown rice noodles
3 green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1 handful basil
1 handful mint
1 handful cilantro
2 Tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts

DRESSING
2 Tablespoons minced ginger
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro sprigs
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 large red serrano pepper (or substitute with 2 small green thai peppers)
1 teaspoon honey
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon finely chopped lemongrass (inside white part only)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• Season the filet with salt and pepper
• Place filet on grill and cook approx. 4-5 minutes each side
• Let stand before slicing
• Cook the noodles according to directions, drain and rinse with cold water
• For the dressing: combine all ingredients in a jar and mix
• Toss the noodles with the dressing and add the torn herbs
• Slice the beef thinly on the diagonal and place on top of the noodles
• Top with the peanuts and serve

Spicy Thai Soup

I was feeling a little under the weather today.  When that happens I often crave soup.  And when my throat is a little sore, and my stomach a little funny, I want spicy, delicious soup!  Usually, that's a Tom Yum.  There is no Tom Yum that compares to the soup they serve at Spoon Thai, but I figured I would try something similar that I could make at home.

So while this isn't really an authentic Tom Yum, it is an amlagamation of a few recipes I found online along with a little inspiration.

SPICY THAI SOUP

6 cups chicken or vegetable stock (ideally homemade, preferably low-sodium and organic if not)
1 stalk lemongrass, tough outer leaves removed, sliced into 1/2 - 1 inch chunks on the bias
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 large chunk ginger grated
2 tsp red chili sauce
1 cloved garlic crushed
zest of 1/2 a lime
juice of 1 lime
1/2 can straw mushrooms rinsed and halved
1 head baby bok choy chopped, stems and leaves separated
1 red bell pepper sliced thinly
1/2 small onion sliced very thinly
1/2 can coconut milk
cilantro

**optional - tofu
--In a large stock pot bring the stock to a boil

--Add the lemon grass, fish sauce, ginger, chili sauce and garlic and reduce to a simmer until all the flavors start to meld together

--Add the mushrooms, bok choy stems, pepper and onion slices and continue to simmer

--Add the coconut milk and bok choy greens, simmering for just a few more minutes

--Ladle into bowls and serve with fresh chopped cilantro on top

**throughout the process I was constantly tasting and adjusting seasonings.  The ratios listed above are approximately what I ended up using.  You may prefer more or less of any of the ingredients.  You may also want to add a dash of sugar to combat some of the spice.

Thai Potato Curry

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 large onion chopped

2 1/2 tsp Thai Green Curry Paste

1 lb potato cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/3 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1 cup canned whole tomatoes with basil, plus juice

1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

Red chili paste (sambal oelek) for serving, optional - we put out a little dish of sambal with a spoon so everyone could add their own level of heat.  I think the dish definitely needed some!

>In a large skillet heat oil over medium high heat

>Add onion and sautee until softened and golden, about 5 minutes

>Add curry paste and cook about 1 minute

>Add potatoes and toss well to coat

>Using your hands, lightly crush the tomatoes between your fingers.  Add tomatoes and juices to skillet.

>Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes

>Stir in lime juice and basil

Turmeric-Roasted Cauliflower

Note: the recipe calls for garnishing with sliced kumquats.  I bought some but they were terribly bitter so I omitted them. 

This was my very first time cooking with turmeric!

1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 head of cauliflower, cored and separated into florets
Salt
1 shallot thinly sliced and separated into rings
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

>Preheat the oven to 400

>In a small bowl mix the coriander, white pepper, garlic, turmeric, red pepper and olive oil

>Place the cauliflower florets in a large baking dish.
>Drizzle the cauliflower with the spice and oil mixture and toss to coat.
>Season with salt and roast for about 25 minutes or until cauliflower is tender and just starting to brown.

>Scrape cauliflower into a serving bowl, add shallot rings and cilantro and toss together.

Stir Fried Red Rice with Sliced Sirloin Steak and Peas

1 cup red rice

2 1/2 cup water

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, minced
9 ounces sirloin steak, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
4 cups thinly sliced swiss chard
1 1/2 cups thawed frozen peas
3 Tbsp soy sauce
white pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
lime wedges

>Rinse and drain the rice.  In a small saucepan, cover the rice with water and bring to a boil. 
>Cover the saucepan and turn heat to low, cooking about 25 minutes, until the rice is tender and water is absorbed. 
>Spread the rice out on a baking sheet and let cool while preparing the rest.

>In a large skillet or pan heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium high heat. 
>Add the garlic and cook for just a minute. 
>Add the sirloin, season with salt and cook until browned on both sides, about a minute.
>Transfer the meat to a plate

>Heat the remaining 2 Tbsp of oil in the skillet.
>Add onion and ginger and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until onion is softened
>Add greens and stir over high heat until they wilt, about a minute or 2
>Stir in rice and peas, then soy sauce and steak and stir well

>Season with salt and white pepper and transfer to a serving bowl.  Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

Thai Explosion

Inspired by the delivery of the newest Food & Wine, Jason and I decided to try our hand at making some Thai recipes.  We've been exploring with eating more asian and thai foods in general but this was our first foray into home preparation! 

As a main course we prepared a Stir-Fried Red Rice with Sliced Sirloin Steak and Peas.

On the side we made a Tumeric-Roasted Cauliflower (not a far departure from all the cauliflower roasting we've been doing this winter) and a Thai Potato Curry.

The cauliflower and stir fry dishes both came out of Food & Wine.  The thai potato curry was born out of a need to use up some organic potatoes that were on their last legs and a quick google search.

We were happy to find almost everything we needed to purchase at our Co-op (the Dill Pickle Co-op).  The co-op actually had both fresh turmeric and bulk ground turmeric!  We used the ground for this recipe.  We headed to Treasure Island for the steak and green curry paste. 

The meal turned out incredibly well.  We drank with it a 2008 Gessami Gramona Penedes White Wine, slightly sweet and aromatic with great acidity that paired perfectly.