Curry Adventure in London

 

This piece was written much earlier, on one of my London adventures.  You see, my brother and I meet there every couple of years.  I don’t remember the date of this visit, but I remember the food.

 

My first night in London, I spent roaming the streets of the area called Soho.  Not the most picturesque parts of London, but certainly one of the most colorful.  There is an ever abundance of ex-colonialists, mainly Indians, but also many blacks and Chinese as well.  Only the Indians, at least the women, have any hold on their national dress; everyone else has made the conversion to western attire.

 

You have to listen carefully to the other foreigners who live in London, since most have learned their English from Englishmen and speak with a kind of Hindustani- Oxfordian accent, with as many twists and turns as a chased rabbit.  Soho is especially blessed with these converts to cradle to grave security, and the area features as many Indian and Chinese restaurants as there probably are in Madras, or Hong Kong.  Each promises “authentic cooking,” Peking Style,” with rows of barbecue ducks hanging on hooks to prove it, or  “Best Curry and Tandori.”

 

On some streets, the spicy zest of curry overpowers everything else, which is fine if you like curried dishes, which I do, but may be a bit much for those with McDonalds conditioned taste buds.

 

Anyway, with my brother still a day away, and me being both hungry and needing to kill some time, I breezed into The New Curry Centre, stared at the menu handed me by a stubby, olive complexioned Indian man  with flashy white teeth, and under his supervision I ordered Moglai Meat and a dry vegetable curry.

 

As I passed the waiter on my way to washing my hands, I casually mentioned I like my curry very hot.  He yelled down the dumbwaiter to the cook, and when the food got to me it was spicy hot enough to dissolve the silverware.  Christ, I bit into that stuff and tears came to my eyes.  The waiters were standing by the bar to see me go up in smoke and I’m sure they were taking side bets on whether I would be a one alarm or a two alarm fire.

 

Now, I do like hot food, but this stuff was like treating heartburn with a bottle of Tabasco. Nevertheless, pride prevailed and I ate every bite without ever reaching for my water glass.

 

The waiters were greatly impressed and besides offering me some “special ice cream,” which I turned down since it was probably made with dry ice, they gave me a standing ovation on my way out the door.

 

The next day was much like the day after a party, when you swear never to drink again.  But, my brother was hungry for curry and of course I had to impress him….

Low Carb Curried Pork Stew

A couple of things you should know about me.  Don’t care to know? Fine!  Skip down to the semi-fabulous recipe that can cook while you’re off to visit your busy day and still feed your ungrateful family who has no idea how hard you work and all the things you do for them daily.

But, enough about you.  Let’s get back to me and the things you should know.  I love to cook…scratch that…I love to empress people with my cooking.  I only invite people who are exuberantly thrilled to be impressed.  I am also lazy…well not really lazy….ok, really lazy.  I like to work at a frenzy, then casually sip a wine or three with my freeloading friends, while the spectacularly delicious meal takes care of itself.  Lots of ways to do that and one of my favorites goes under the unremarkable heading of stew.

In my never ending search for the unremarkably remarkable, I chanced upon a stew recipe that with just a bit of tweaking could turn a suburbanite’s common Mustang into a fire-spitting Shelby Cobra.  I know, I know.  Mixed metaphors.  First cooking, then screaming sports cars.  But, that fire-spitting Shelby Cobra sticks In your mind, n’est pas?  Mission Accomplished!

On to the recipe.

Low Carb Curried Pork Stew

Hint:  If you’re getting an early morning start, cook this stew the night before.

Pre-heat your oven to 275ºF (140ºC)

1 Pound (or a bit more) of either cooked, or raw pork.  I used some of each.

3 cloves of fresh garlic, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper to taste or about ½ teaspoon each

6 Ounces button mushrooms, washed and quartered

½ Medium onion, diced

½ Red bell pepper, sliced

½ Green bell pepper, sliced

1 Large parsnip, julienned

4 Tablespoons of your favorite concentrated curry paste.  I use Patak’s.

1 Can (about 1 ½ to 2 Cups) double strength beef broth, undiluted

2 Cups chicken broth

Juice of ½ Lime to finish

Puttin’ It All Together:

If you’re using raw pork, drop a tablespoon or two of oil in a frying pan and lightly brown the meat, adding salt and pepper.  Don’t worry about the pork not cooking completely!  The stew will be in the oven a few hours.

Put the vegetables in a large skillet and lightly cook them.  This reduces the water in the vegetables and intensifies the flavor. 

In your stew pot, put a bit of oil and the minced onions and garlic slices. Cook until they wilt.  Add all the pork and stir.

Add the beef and chicken broths and bring to a boil.  Add the curry paste and stir well.  Add the vegetables.

Put a top on your stew pot, slip it into the 275ºF (140ºC) oven and go do something else for three hours.

When the stew comes out of the oven, taste, and add salt and pepper as necessary.

Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the stew and stir.

Ladle the stew into bowls and serve with a slice of lime.

This stew goes well with either swilling a beer, or sipping a Pinot Grigio!

Thai Curry In A Hurry

Thai Curry with Tomato Chutney 

Chicken off the grill

Garnishes

Ah, Thailand.  Friendly people, great food, excellent prices, which reminds me of a trip to Krabi, on the southern coast, by an azure sea, with a beautiful beach, and fragrant coconut oil spread deliciously over…ah,but that’s another story.   I will say this.  There were vast amounts of Singha Beer involved and my recollection is as fuzzy as a cotton picker’s navel. 

Ok, curry.  Thai curry.  How is that different from Indian curry?  Are you nuts?  Taken leave of your senses?  Everyone knows that Indian curry comes from London and Thai curry comes from a really cute chick wearing a sarong.

This time, let’s forego the distant travel (biting tongue, holding back tears) and bring Thai curry to our own kitchen.  But, before we get started, let’s get one thing straight.  There are as many different Thai curries as there are Thai cooks.  So mine isn’t the Thai curry you remember from the drunken weekend in Bangkok? Dry up, quit whining, and pass me an icy bottle of Singha. 

A recipe for Tomato Chutney follows the curry recipe.

The Curry Recipe:

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, trimmed

5 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 Tablespoons peanut, or other vegetable oil (30-45 grams)

1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced thinly (onion about the size of your fist)

2 14 oz cans coconut milk (.8 Liters) Open them one at a time.  You’ll see why in a minute.

3 Tablespoons curry powder (or to taste) I use a mixture of hot and mild.

1-2 Tablespoons garam masala.   I know this is an Indian mixture, but I like it.  Don’t have any?  Just season as necessary with more curry powder.

            2 Tablespoons fish sauce

            1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

            Black pepper for the chicken

Garnish: lemon wedges, fresh cilantro leaves, dried coconut, peanuts, cayenne pepper

1.     Salt and pepper the chicken pieces, and grill them.  When they’re done, cut into one-inch cubes.  For my European friends, an inch is about 2.5 mm

2.     As the chicken is grilling, heat the oil in a pan, add the garlic and stir.  Add the sliced onion and cook until wilted.

3.     Add the chicken, the first can of coconut milk, all the spices, and the fish sauce, and cook until all the spice is blended and the sauce begins to thicken.  If you don’t have enough sauce, add all or part of the second can of coconut milk.  Taste and add more salt, or spice as necessary.

4.     Serve over rice and garnish individually.

Tomato Chutney

I like to serve tomato chutney with my curry, even though it is definitely not Thai.

Easy to make.  Difficult to forget.

            1 Tablespoon oil

            1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes

            1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

            1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained

            1/2 lemon

            1/3 cup raisins

            1/2 cup sugar

            1/2 teaspoon salt

            Heat the oil in a pan and add the spices.  When the seeds start to jump, add the tomatoes.  Thin slice the lemon half and place the slices over the tomato mixture.  Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened.  Stir in the raisins, sugar, and salt.  Stir until all sugar is melted and the sauce is consistent.

            Taste a scrumptious bite of the curry.  Takes you back, doesn’t it.  Makes you wish you were single, I mean you had more than a single serving.  Several questions about my Thai curry are constantly thrown my way.  Will Thai curry cause your heart to flutter and your eyes roll back?  No, but it will make you forget Budweiser, fill your nostrils with a strong scent of coconut oil, and leave you yearning for the beach.  Will Thai curry increase your sexual awareness to the point that your dog whines, while your wife, and many of the neighbors pretend to be asleep?  Likely, but no personal experience.  Wink, wink.