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Greetings!
Meat and vegetables cooked in sauce, served with a starch: from wine-fragrant coq au vin in France to beef stroganoff over egg noodles in Russia to hearty chicken pot pie in middle America, this is a staple meal, complete and satisfying, that spans the globe. Today we explore the most ubiquitous iteration of this meal formula: curry. Endlessly customizable, curry can be a simple vegetarian weeknight affair or a regionally authentic dinner party star. However you put it together, I hope that curry will find a place at your fall table.
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Building Community through Cuisine,
Naomi
Naomi Kakiuchi, RD, CD, CCP
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Curry
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The word curry is believed to derive from the word for "sauce" in the South Indian language of Tamil: kari. Unable to differentiate between the variety of stew-like dishes in that region, 17th century British traders placed them all under the umbrella of kari. As a result, the word curry as it's used today is hopelessly vague, basically meaning any dish of meat, vegetables, or both, cooked in a sauce with herbs and spices and served with rice. To narrow it down further, we must first separate it by country of origin. From there, we're faced with multiple ways of categorizing. Some countries separate curries by region, others by ingredient, others still by another descriptor.
Take Thai curry, for example. Within one country, there exists:
*Massaman Curry--defined by the use of Massaman curry paste, made by roasting and grinding together 15 or so ingredients and Indian type spices.
*Thai Green Curry--defined by its green color due to the use paste made with fresh Thai green chiles and Thai basil.
*Thai Red Curry--usually made with coconut milk and a versatile red curry paste of dried red chilies and traditionally contains shrimp paste.
*Panang Curry--made with a mild yellow-colored curry paste cooked with a thick coconut milk base, named for a town bordering Thailand and Malaysia.
*Kaeng Som--a clear broth based sour and spicy fish curry using tamarind, also known as yellow curry.
And this is just Thailand. Many countries have several regional curry specialties, including India (probably the country with the broadest and deepest curry lexicon), Japan, China, Vietnam, South Africa, the Philippines, the Maldives, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Overwhelming? At face value, curry with its many complexities and variations can seem difficult to wrap your head around but this is actually good news for home cooks! Given a list of ingredients and techniques, anyone can make an authentic-tasting curry that hails from one of the countries I mentioned above. (See our upcoming class, Crazy for Curry! for a hands-on primer)
Curry is endlessly customizable. Your household can run the gamut from vegetarian, to kosher, to die-hard carnivore and curry can be made with tofu, chicken, beef, seafood, lamb, goat, pork, or veggies only. Use high-quality curry paste from a jar if you don't have time to break out the mortar and pestle or hunt down galangal. Or, spend a Saturday afternoon relishing in the curry-making process: selecting the laundry list of ingredients, grinding them together by hand and chopping vegetables as lemongrass and coconut milk steam wafts from the stove.
*A word about curry paste: curry paste is the generic name for a paste made of ingredients traditionally ground up with a mortar and pestle, serving as the base for some curries. The exact ingredients of the paste determine what curry it creates the base for, but the most common ingredients used are salt, shallots, garlic, fresh or dried chili peppers, galangal (cousin to ginger), lemongrass, kaffir lime zest or leaves, cumin seeds, and turmeric, spices and emulsified with shrimp paste or for vegetarians, red miso.
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Thai Green Curry & Homemade Curry Paste
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Homemade Green Curry Paste
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Homemade curry paste is an undertaking that if you have the time is well worth the effort--if only to taste for yourself what the difference is. To do it the truly authentic way you will need a mortar and pestle, but pulsing all your ingredients in a food processor will get you close. If you are using a blender, you will want to add some water to allow blending and then take more time frying the paste as you will have a more liquid paste. I often will use the food processor to get a smooth paste and then finish it in the mortar and pestle. The better combined your ingredients, the better your Thai curry dish will be. Unused curry paste will keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks, or can be frozen for up to 6 months.
- For the Thai green curry paste
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thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger, grated
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- For the curry
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4 small green Thai eggplant, cut into 1-inch chunks
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(tomatillos, or peeled Asian eggplant works too)
1 tablespoon palm sugar, or light brown sugar
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1 pound raw, peeled and deveined medium prawns
3 kaffir lime leaves, cut fine julienne
steamed jasmine rice, to serve
- For the curry paste, lightly toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan, until fragrant. Grind in a spice blender.
- Place the seeds into a food processor and will the processor running, drop down the feed tube the garlic, chilies, ginger, lemongrass and salt and shallot. and cilantro stalks. Add dried kaffir lime leaves and process to a smooth paste. Pound further with a mortar and pestle if desired.
- Add the fish sauce and a pinch of white pepper, to season. The curry paste is now ready to use. If not using immediately, the paste can be stored in a jar topped with a little oil and will keep in the fridge for a month.
- For the curry, heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped eggplant and fry for 4-5 minutes, until browned all over and starting to soften. Cook for another 10 minutes until they are golden-brown and softened. Add the solid fat from the top of the can of coconut milk and then add the Thai green curry paste and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and wait for the oil to rise from the coconut milk. That means the paste is cooked through and the flavor is infused in the milk.
- Add the remaining coconut milk, bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Add the green beans and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Allow the coconut milk to reduce and thicken slightly before adding the chicken stock. Add the sugar and the fish sauce to the curry.
- Add the prawns and cook for 3-5 minutes until they turn pink and are cooked through. Add the kaffir lime leaf, fresh lime juice and zest, and chopped coriander.
- Serve curry over steamed jasmine rice, and garnish with reserved coriander leaves.
Recipe with adaptations by the BBC Mitch Tonks
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Calendar | |
Don't Forget: Happy Hour at the Foundry!
Save the Date-
October 1, 2013
4:00-7:00 pm
Join Professional Chefs at Seattle's Newest Teaching Kitchen
and Explore a World of Flavors
Join NuCulinary and Pastry Craft for Happy Hour on October 1, 2013, 4-7 pm at The Foundry Brake Room. See the teaching kitchen and celebrate upcoming fall classes. Guests will also have the opportunity to tour The Foundry's event space. The Foundry is located at 4130 1st Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98134 (next to the Daniel Smith Art Store under the 1st Avenue overpass, just one block south of the West Seattle Bridge). Free parking is available.
RSVP for Happy Hour at NuCulinary's Class Calendar. Can't wait to see you there!
NuCulinary Cooking Classes
Interested in a firsthand tutorial on the complexities of curry-making? Sign up for our Crazy for Curry cooking class:
CRAZY FOR CURRY
Hands-On Cooking Class
October 6, 2013
1:00pm
View our class calendar and sign up now for upcoming classes including paella, artisan bread, sushi-making, and more. We keep our class sizes small to provide a wonderful individualized experience for you, so space is limited--reserve your spot early!
Matsutake Hunting at the Oregon Coast
October 18-19, 2013 Overnight option: $45 Daytrip option (Saturday 10/18 only): $20 For current and new Friends of Oregon Nikkei Endowment only.
Join us on a field trip to hunt and gather Matsutake mushrooms at the Oregon Coast. This outing is especially designed for novices and is open to Friends of Oregon Nikkei Endowment, which is presented in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service.
Activities include a guided matsutake hunt at the Oregon dunes and a talk by local experts. The overnight option also includes a Social Hour on Friday evening and breakfast on Saturday. Lodging in Yachats is not included but is available to reserve at a reduced rate.
View the flyer here. Contact Oregon Nikkei Endowment with questions or to register:
Phone: 503-224-1458 Email: [email protected]
Japan Update: Business Opportunities for 2014 and Beyond
Business Roundtable Series
October 18, 2013
1:00-5:00 pm Symposium
5:00-7:00 pm Reception & Networking
Bellevue City Hall, 450 110th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
An update on the state of US Japan relations and its implications for the economic, business, and trade relationships within Washington State.
Keynote speakers: Professor Koichi Hamada, Ambassador Robert M. Orr and Marc Knapper with welcome by Consul General of Japan Masahiro Omura.
Panel discussion with executive leaders of Acucela, Microsoft, Starbucks and the Washington State Dept. of Commerce.
Registration at [email protected] or call 206.374-0180
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