Kasey Wilson: It's time to try Thai
Credit to Author: Stephen Snelgrove| Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2019 18:00:14 +0000
I’ve been captivated by Thai cooking and ingredients since I visited Bangkok in the mid-1980s with Stephen Wong, a Hong Kong-born chef and cookbook author who has had a creative influence on many restaurants in B.C.
David Robertson, founder of Vancouver’s Dirty Apron Cooking School and Delicatessen, shares my enthusiasm. “If there’s one cuisine I could eat for rest of my life it would be Thai food, and I’ve been blessed because my Thai sister-in-law, Tula, is a terrific cook,” he says.
In his brand-new Gather: A Dirty Apron Cookbook, Robertson includes a recipe for Thai Chicken Curry that I had to try.
In Thailand, fish sauce made from fermented anchovies fascinated me. It adds a salty, savoury flavour to soups, stews and sauces that soy sauce can’t match, and Thai food just wouldn’t taste the same without it.
A well-stocked supermarket ethnic aisle has fish sauce and other basics, but you may want to treat yourself to a stop at South China Seas Trading Company (Granville Island Public Market; 1502 Victoria Dr.) or Wild Rice in the River Market (810 Quayside Drive, New Westminster) to buy everything you’ll need for an international adventure in your own kitchen.
Fish sauce and chili paste lend complexity and depth to David Robertson’s Thai Chicken Curry, which is finished with a corn-cashew stir-fry. Photo: Kevin Clark
If you don’t have time to make the green curry paste, Namjai is the brand to purchase. Be sure to prep the corn ingredients ahead of time so you can quickly make the stir-fry. — Adapted from Gather: A Dirty Apron Cookbook by David Robertson
Chicken:
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, halved
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp (30 mL) vegetable oil
¼ cup (60 mL) Green Curry Paste (recipe follows)
3 cups (750 mL) coconut milk
2 tbsp (30 mL) light brown sugar
2 tsp (10 mL) Thai fish sauce
2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
1 cup (250 mL) sliced long beans or green beans (2-inch pieces)
½ cup (125 mL) firmly packed Thai basil leaves, divided
Corn:
Kernels from 2 ears cooked sweet corn
1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
½ red onion, sliced
½ red bell pepper, seeded, deveined and cut into thin strips
¼ cup (60 mL) cashew nuts
1 green onion, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 tbsp (15 mL) soy sauce
Season chicken with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add curry paste and chicken and stir-fry for a minute. Stir in coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce and lime leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until sauce starts to coat the chicken. Add beans and half the basil and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the beans are tender and chicken is cooked through.
Cover chicken and keep warm on low heat while you stir-fry the corn: Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add corn, onions, bell peppers and cashews and sauté for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in soy sauce and add green onion.
Transfer chicken curry to a serving dish. Scatter corn mixture and remaining basil over top. Serve with white rice.
Makes 4 servings.
With its distinctive aroma and flavour, cilantro root is an essential Thai ingredient. You can sometimes find it fresh at farmers markets and almost always find it frozen at Asian supermarkets. This paste is traditionally made in a mortar and pestle. Prepare it in advance, store it in the freezer and — Voilà — you can put together a complex meal in no time at all. — Adapted from Gather: A Dirty Apron Cookbook by David Robertson
8 green serrano or jalapeños peppers
6 kaffir lime leaves, torn
2 garlic cloves
1 stalk lemon grass, outer two layers discarded, finely chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 bunch cilantro leaves, stems and roots
2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp (15 mL) peanut oil
1 tsp (15 mL) coriander seeds
½ tsp (2.5 mL) black peppercorns
½ tsp (2.5 mL) kosher salt
Grated zest of ½ lime
Combine peppers, lime leaves, garlic, lemon grass, shallot, cilantro, ginger, oil, coriander seeds, peppercorns and salt in a food processor and process into a thick paste. Transfer to an airtight container. Paste can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.
Makes ¾ cup.
This simple make-ahead salad offers a refreshing counterpoint to the curry.
2 English cucumbers, unpeeled, scrubbed and thinly sliced
½ cup (125 mL) sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp (30 mL) finely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbsp (45 mL) shredded carrots
¼ cup (60 mL) seasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup (80 mL) salted peanuts
In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, onions, cilantro and carrots. Toss with rice vinegar and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with peanuts.
Makes 4 servings.
Most supermarkets sell spices in small containers. You can buy bigger packets from Asian supermarkets, which will encourage you to spoon them into your dishes with a freer hand. Store spices in the freezer to preserve their freshness.