The Greening of the Curry

Betsy and I have now had two successful forays into homemade green curry. We first tried this recipe a few months ago chez Pantazelos de Framingham, but the texture was a little off given that we couldn't get the paste to the right consistency in a small electric chopper; it was a little stringy from the lemongrass and ginger. I will note that the Mumm blanc de noirs, silver, and china made the experience stand out far beyond the "meh" curry.

This past Friday, we went in for round 2. Given my recent realization that my microplane grater is not just for parmesan and chocolate, I used it to create a very even-textured pulp from the ginger, garlic, lemongrass, lime zest, and jalapeño. This was much more paste-y, in a good way.

We used sweet potato, onion, and purple carrots (suspend disbelief, it's true -- even the world carrot museum can back me up) as our veggies, and chicken (for laziness' sake). I find that I never order green curry in restaurants because of the poor choice of veggie inclusion, such as eggplant, green beans, and bell peppers. Yellow and masaman seem so much more inviting with their onion, potato, pineapple, and the like.

We also had a coconut milk tasting (anything to bring myself closer to America's Test Kitchen). We favored the slightly sweeter and more creamy Wild Oats light coconut milk over its Whole Foods counterpart.

The finished product was lovely, and involved second helpings.


The recipe below is a good starting point; I encourage experimentation in the paste mixture (I added lime zest) and the vegetables/meat you include. We sauteed the onions along with the curry paste so they would caramelize a bit. I'll also note that this did not keep well in the fridge overnight, mostly due to the purple carrots. The color kind of bled into the coconut milk, and the lavender hue was slightly less than appetizing. Reminded me of the strange chocolates I had that were flavored with flowers. In any case; worth a try. You'll either swear off or really appreciate your local thai restaurant.
~ESN

Green Coconut and Pork Curry
from Apartment Therapy: The Kitchen
serves 2-4

1 teaspoon whole coriander
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 teaspoon whole black pepper
3 jalapenos, chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, minced
2 inches peeled fresh ginger, grated
8 cloves garlic, smashed

1 pound stewing pork, chopped into bite-size pieces
2 cans coconut milk
2 zucchini, chopped
Cilantro for garnish
Jasmine rice, for serving

In a heavy skillet over medium heat, toast the coriander, cumin, and
black pepper until fragrant - just about a minute. Remove from the
heat and grind in a food processor then add jalapenos, lemongrass,
ginger and garlic and grind to as fine a paste as possible.

Heat a heavy stockpot over medium heat and fry the paste until
fragrant - about 2 minutes, then add the pork and fry lightly until
just golden. Add the heavy, thick part from one can of coconut milk
and fry until the oil separates. Add the rest of the coconut milk and
simmer at low heat until the pork is cooked through. Add the zucchini
at the end and simmer for a few minutes or until just tender. Serve
immediately.