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Any advice for improvement....familiar Thai Chicken and Veggies


stubby

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So I've seen many versions very similar to this...tried it...sharing it...wondering how anyone else out there would improve it....would love feedback!  Thanks.

 

3ish T clarified butter

1 1/2 cups diced onions

1 diced red pepper

1 diced yellow pepper

1 diced green pepper

2 t + minced garlic

3/4 head of cabbage chopped

maybe about 1.5 lbs boned, skinned, chicken thighs

2 t (est.) Sesame oil

2T Red Thai curry paste

1 can of coconut milk (I actually used about 3/4 of it as I'd already started the can)

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Cooked thighs at 425 for 14 minutes.

 

Sauteed onions in 1 T clarified butter - long time on low to try to get browning/caramelizing

Sauteed peppers in 1 T clarified butter and the garlic - pretty quick.

Sauteed cabbage in 1T clarified butter.

Put all veggies in a Tupperware container - mixed them up and stored away for lots of meals to come.

 

In skillet, added a little sesame oil.  Added the curry paste to release flavor.  

Added the coconut milk.

Added the chicken - as cooking on a very, very low simmer, I cut the chicken into even smaller pieces (personal preference).  Probably allowed to simmer on low for 20 minutes to soak up the flavor.

 

Serving - placed a generous helping of veggies on my plate.  Placed a serving of chicken on top.Heated, salted - and ate.

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Notes:  I think I could have cooked all the veggies together...but I do think they cook differently, so chose to split it into 3 separate actions.

 

The Thai flavor was NOT too strong.  I actually think it could have been stronger, but my husband suggested it might be missing something other than the Thai curry paste.  He suggested something with more of a punch like a Cayenne...something that stayed on the tongue.

 

HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS for any improvements?  I think some type of approved nut butter would have been great - but I haven't yet found an approved version in any of my local stores.  Still looking.  Maybe coconut aminos, but I haven't found that yet either.

 

THANKS!

 

 

 

 

 

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Coriander!! I always add coriander to my Thai curries - root/stem during cooking and leaves to garnish. I also add fresh garlic, ginger and chilli - lemongrass if i can get it - even when using paste.

I'd also suggest adding the sesame oil after cooking, it's used more for taste and heating it isn't the best idea

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If after two tablespoons you feel like it needs a bit of a kick, you might just need another type of paste :-) I like Lobo and Mae Ploy. Here's a review on Mae Ploy, so I suppose you get it from North America as well, and at least you get it from Amazon (I checked): http://www.thekitchn.com/product-review-mae-ploy-curry-127730

 

The pot lasts you forever, since you'll hardly make curries every day and let me tell you, one tablespoon of that stuff will be quite a lot.

 

Everything amberino said. I personally love lemongrass so much it hurts! Kaffir lime leaves would be a nice addition as well.

 

I'd also vary the type of paste and the veggies with it. I think that yellow curry would go very well with some sweet potato cubes and onions. I've also thought about combining pineapple and kale with panang curry. Haven't done that though just yet, so can't say if it was successful :-) I also really love onion and green bell peppers with green curry. You could also try mushrooms, eggplant, zuccini, broccoli, cauliflower...not necessarily all in one dish, but those would be some nice veggies in a curry. You could make every dish taste slightly different!

 

Sesame oil is generally used in Chinese cooking, not so much in Thai. I've used coconut oil, though I think palm oil would be more accurate. But if sesame tastes good to you, then no judgment here! :-)

 

Technically, Thai dishes would need palm sugar and fish sauce, but since sugar is out, I've used pineapple to get a bit of sweetness and freshness. I haven't used fish sauce at all, even though it has less sugar in it than a sweet potato has and you only use it in the range of one tablespoon. To me, it's not reasonable to start importing a sugar free alternative, so I've just omitted it completely for the 30 days for the sake of trying to be consistent.

 

I just love Thai food, and it's one of my dreams to go back to Thailand just for the sake of attending a cooking course. And a Vipassana meditation course, but that's another story :-)

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I'd use coconut oil (ditch the sesame) and don't be skimpy, it brings out the flavour in the paste & coconut.

I'd add more curry paste, red curry should be very tasty and not need extra chilli :) I love the Aroy-D brand.

Penang is the hottest thai curry if you find the red isn't strong enough, but extra paste will make the red stronger :)
There's also green, yellow and massaman but watch the ingredients in the last one, it sometimes comes with peanuts or sugar (Aroy-D doesn't!).

I'm not anti-cabbage, but I've never had it in any thai curries (doesn't mean you can't though). I usually have greens, onions and peppers, or "Shanghai mix" frozen veggies which have lovely crunchy water chestnut slices.

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Thanks for all the suggestions.  There are obviously some talented cooks in this virtual kitchen.

 

I'm going to look for the red boat fish sauce.  I've got the Mae Ploy in my Amazon cart - going to try the Yellow one.  Coriander....can you use ground coriander if you didn't get the root?

 

Where do you get the Shanghai mix frozen veggies - any old grocery - or specialty?

 

Thanks again everyone!

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Green curry is great with chicken and seafood :)

The ground coriander gives a different taste to fresh roots or leaves, but they all work :)

In Australia frozen stiry fry mixes are very common, most are pure but some contain sauces mixed in.

Mine is Bird's Eye brand as has: Carrot, broccoli, sugar snap peas, capsicum, water chestnuts
This is what is looks like: http://birdseye.com.au/our-range/frozen-vegetables/stir-fry/shanghai-500g

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I also love green curry. And panang. And red :-) Yellow curry is nice as well, though it is so close to the taste of curry powder, that I don't mentally connect it with what Thai food tastes like to me. The good thing is though, that you can use it in other ways as well. I'd add a bit to a chicken soup!

 

OK, now I want clear chicken soup with a bit of yellow curry... OR, make some chicken meatballs and add a bit to the mix. Oh, oh, and fish cakes with a bit of green curry!

 

I think I'll need to order some of those curries myself as well :-)

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