Thai Peanut Sauce

It should come as no surprise to anyone that I love food. I will happily devour almost any kind of food that you place in front of me. There are two exceptions, only two things that I cannot stand to eat even the tiniest bit of: nutmeg and curry. My husband is really disappointed that I don't like curry because he loves Thai and Indian food, and it almost always has curry in it. I've been working on my aversion to curry, and I've found that I actually don't mind it is some things, as long as it's not too overpowering.

Enter this sauce. My neighbor brought us some of this with some sticky rice a few weeks ago. I thought it looked a little weird, but I tried a bite...and another...and another. I ate more for lunch the next day. And the next day. And I have literally dreamed about it several times since. She was nice enough to not only give me the recipe, but bring us MORE of it last week. (Seriously, we have the best neighbors ever!) 

Normally I don't particularly care for peanut butter, coconut, or curry, so it is a testament to the amazingness of this sauce that I can't get enough of it when it includes all three of those ingredients. I know the ingredients sound a little strange together, but trust me, it is the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, salty, and savory. I love this straight-up on top of rice, or served with chicken and veggies. Enjoy!

Thai Peanut Sauce

1 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 Tb. red curry paste
1/4 cup + 2 Tb. granulated sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 Tb. tamarind liquid (or substitute brown sugar)
5 - 7 Tb. chunky peanut butter (natural peanut butter with no added sugar is recommended)

1. In medium saucepan, heat coconut milk over medium heat. Stir in curry paste and mix well to break up the paste into small pieces.
2. When the milk/curry mixture heats up and red oil is simmering on the top, stir in remaining ingredients. Boil until desired thickness is reached (about 2 - 5 minutes). Serve with rice, chicken, veggies, etc. as desired.

Red Curry Roasted Salmon with Green Beans and Red Peppers

Red Curry Roasted Salmon with Green Beans and Red Peppers
Serves 4

Ingredients-
4 6oz salmon fillets
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
8 oz fresh green beans, trimmed
1 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise (the polar direction) into strips
1 small onion, cut lengthwise (polar direction) into strips

1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, sliced very thin (aka chiffonaded)
1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, sliced very thin (use Thai basil if you can get it)

Directions-
1- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a very large, heavy, rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray.
2- In a small bowl mix 1 tablespoon of olive oil with the lime juice and curry paste until it is a thick liquidy consistency.
3- Place the salmon fillets on one side of the baking sheet, coat them with the curry mixture.
4- Toss the green beans, red peppers and onions in a medium bowl with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil until they are well coated. Put them on the other side of the baking sheet. Sprinkle them with salt.
5- Put the baking sheet in the oven and let it roast until the salmon is just opaque in the center and the vegetables are a little tender. Should take about 12-14 minutes.
6- Plate the fish. Toss the vegetables with the pan juices, the mint and basil and serve alongside. I think it's especially tasty with coconut rice, but go wild and crazy with it. Garnish with lime wedges, and a bit of cilantro.

Thai Chicken Soup

I love Asian food, especially southeast Asian (things like Thai and Vietnamese). There just seems to be a near perfect balance of sweet, sour, spicy and savory in most of the dishes. All with a wide variety of flavors and textures. It's just amazing stuff. This recipe is one of my favorites, it's a coconut based Thai soup that I've adapted from an America's Test Kitchen recipe.

Thai Chicken Soup:
serves 4

Ingredients-
1 tsp. vegetable oil
3 stalks lemon grass, tough outer leaves removed, bottom 5 inches halved lengthwise and sliced thin crosswise (other than at the Asian market, the only places I've found fresh lemon grass around here is at the Sunflower Market and some Whole Foods stores)
3 large shallots, chopped
8 sprigs fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
3 TB fish sauce (look in the Asian section of the supermarket)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 (14oz) cans coconut milk, well-shaken (you can substitute light coconut milk if you want it lower fat)
1 TB sugar
1/2 lb white mushrooms, cleaned, stems trimmed, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts , halved lengthwise and sliced on bias into 1/8-inch-thick pieces
3 TB fresh lime juice from 2 to 3 limes
2 tsp. red curry paste (Thai)
Garnish
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 serrano chiles, sliced thin
2 scallions , sliced thin
1 lime, cut into wedges
Thai basil (optional)

Directions-
1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat, adding lemon grass, shallots, cilantro, and 1 TB fish sauce when it's just starting to shimmer. Cook, stirring frequently until just barely softened (2 to 5 minutes). Don't let the vegetables brown!
2. Stir in chicken broth and 1 can coconut milk; bring to simmer over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until flavors have blended (10 minutes).
3. Pour broth through fine-mesh strainer and discard solids in strainer. Rinse saucepan and return broth mixture to pan (I think this step is fairly optional, it will look prettier if you do it, but sometimes I don't)
4. Return pan to medium-high heat. Stir remaining can coconut milk and sugar into broth mixture and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms, and cook until just tender (2 to 3 minutes).
5. Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until no longer pink (1 to 3 minutes). Remove soup from heat.
6. Combine lime juice, curry paste, and remaining 2 tablespoons fish sauce in small bowl; stir into soup.
7. Ladle soup into bowls, serve with garnishes of cilantro, chiles, scallions, lime and Thai basil (I serve them on the side and let people garnish for themselves, it's easier, more fun and more authentic).

If you want it to be more substantial then serve it over cooked noodles (I just use Ramen without any flavouring) or jasmine rice (about 3 cups worth).