Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Soup -- Thai Chicken Curry Transformed

That Pim.
Thoughtful, dedicated, talented, well-traveled and a good Samaritan to boot. Oh, did I mention she can really cook? And blog? Check out Chez Pim for yourself.

I was one of her raffle helpers a few weeks ago for Menu for Hope II and she served us a wickedly good Thai curry noodle dish that has haunted me ever since. Thanks to Brett of In Praise of Sardines I now know we had khao soi, a northern Thai curry chicken and noodle dish. (The photo above shows the accompaniments Pim served with the curry.)

That dish inspired my own, much less authentic version of a Thai Chicken Curry. I very loosely adapted a recipe from Thai Table. I used Thai red curry paste, some chopped onions, bite-size pieces of chicken breast, fresh green beans sliced into thirds, small, round eggplants cut into chunks, cubes of tofu, a combination of light and regular coconut milk, and water to make a very spicy and soupy stew which I served over rice and later noodles. (Dear Reader, I confess I made a LOT of the Thai chicken curry.) It was good. It got better (and hotter) each day. After a few days, I wanted to change the taste profile, so I added a 28-ounce can of diced organic tomatoes with their juice, reheated the stew/soup and ladled into my soup bowl. I served whole grain flatbreads warmed on a griddle to eat alongside the my newly christened Thai Chicken Curry and Tomato Soup.

It was great. But it was not nearly as wonderful as Pim's.

2 comments:

  1. Your soup sounds wonderful. My brother lives in California where there are lots and lots of Asian markets, and when I visit him I stock up on packaged soup mixes for Thai and Vietnamese soups. They actually produce a pretty tasty soup when you're in a hurry.

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  2. Sounds really good. I have recently become obsessed with Thai food. Thanks for the ideas.

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