Thai Green Curry Shrimp

I was planning on making curried lamb shanks, but when I saw these amazing shrimp at the Asian market, I just had to change my menu! I just recently posted a recipe for home made Thai Green Curry Paste, but you can easily substitute any Thai Green Curry Paste, which you can pretty much pick up at any grocery store these days. I wanted a clean, fresh, healthy flavorful curry so I used Thai & Indian eggplant, sweet potato (which was everyone's favorite!), sweet pea pods, and your basic Thai basil, lime wedges, and cilantro as an accompaniment to the dish. This is a very saucy recipe so make sure to serve with rice so you get to enjoy all the yummy curry sauce!

Thai Green Curry Shrimp

2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Large Sweet Onion, chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger, minced
3-5 Tablespoons Green Curry Paste (depending on how spicy you like your curry)
1 Lime, zest and juice
2 13-Ounce Cans Coconut Milk
1 13-Ounce Can Chicken Stock
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
6 Thai Eggplant, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
6 Indian Eggplant, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
2 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1/2 Pound Fresh Snap Peas
2 Pounds Large Shrimp, peeled and devained
Thai Basil, Cilantro, and Lime Wedges, for garnish

In a dutch oven or very large skilled, heat oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and pepper and cook until tender. Next add the ginger and curry paste, cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Next add lime zest and juice, coconut milk, chicken stock, sugar, and salt, cook until all solids from coconut are disolved and bring to a simmer. Add the eggplant, and sweet potatoes, loosely cover and cook at a simmer until potatoes are tender, about 40 minutes. Next add the pea pods and shrimp cook until shrimp are just cooked through and pink, only a few minutes. Garnish with basil, cilantro and lime wedges. Serve over jasmine or white rice.

Thai Green Curry Paste

I was craving something totally different for dinner the other night and got inspiration from my Indian Curry cookbook. I wasn't in the mood for Indian though, so I thought why not try to make a Thai Green Curry? It was much easier that I thought it would be and turned out very yummy! I just hopped into the car and headed to the Asian market and they had everything I needed for the curry paste.
I ended up using the curry in a coconut and shrimp curry recipe (which I will share in a few days), and it turned out so good...not too spicy, but it still had a bit of a kick, and the flavors were divine! This recipe is from the Food Network, one of Tyler Florence recipes.

Thai Green Curry Paste

2 Tablespoons Coriander Seeds
1 Tablespoon Cumin Seeds
1 Tablespoon Whole Black Peppercorns
8 Fresh Thai Green Chiles
2 Shallots, Coarsely Chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, smashed
Small Handful Fresh Cilantro
2-Inch Piece Galangal, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 Lemon Grass Stalks, white part only, coarsely chopped
Zest 1 Small Lemon
2 Teaspoons Dried Shrimp Paste
1/2 Cup Water

Heat the coriander, cumin seeds, and peppercorns in a small dry skillt for 2 minutes until fragrant. Put the seeds in a clean coffee grinder or spice mill and process the spices until they form a powder.
Put the spice blend and all remaining ingredients in a food processor, and pulse to combine. Pour in the water to help grind everything down into a paste.

Thai Coconut Curry with Squash & Chicken

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving! I sure did, and feel about 10 pounds heavier because of it. Also, I got so tied up with work and eating this weekend I forgot that I didn’t have anything lined up to post, so sorry it’s been so long. I finally wasn’t in charge of the meal this year and went over to a friend’s house. We had 3 appetizers, turkey, 13 side dishes, and 3 desserts…a foodies dream come true, all I had to do was bring mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes (you think I’m from Idaho?) I will do a post about these a little later this week when I get all my pictures ready.
So onto the curry dish…I had an acorn squash hanging out on the counter this week and I thought I would throw it in a curry with some chicken and it was really good, I can’t wait to make this dish again. It’s really quick and with the exception of the cilantro, I had all the ingredients on hand. This is also a very quick dish to make, so it’s perfect to throw together after work. I like my curry dishes pretty spicy so I used a full (or rather heaping) tablespoon of curry paste, if you’re not a spice fan, you may want to cut back to a teaspoon or so and then add more to taste.

Thai Coconut Curry with Squash & Chicken

1 Acorn Squash, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
2 Shallots, chopped
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1 Tablespoon Thai Green Curry Paste
1 Can Unsweetened Coconut Milk (reduced fat is fine in this dish!)
1 Teaspoon Fish Sauce, or more to taste
2 Teaspoons Dark Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Large Chicken Breast, cut into cubes
Cilantro, or Thai Basil, for garnish

Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the squash and boil until just tender. Drain and set aside.
In a small food processor or blender combine the shallots, garlic, curry paste coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, and salt, process to form a smooth sauce.
In a medium sized pot, add the oil and sauté the chicken until just browned. Add the curry sauce and squash and cook until fragrant and squash is very tender, about 5 minutes. Serve over rice if desired with cilantro or basil for garnish.

Thai Noodles with Shrimp

I love how easy this dish is to make. You can really add any vegetables you like to make it your own recipe. I must say that the first time I heard of oyster sauce it freaked me out a little bit, what the heck is in oyster sauce, and what does it taste like? Then I got over my apprehension and was pleasantly surprised by a rich, non-fishy, almost teriyaki type of flavor. It’s now a staple ingredient in all my stir fry recipes.

Thai Noodles with Shrimp

8 Ounces Rice Noodles
1 Pound Shrimp, cleaned, shelled, and deveined
1 Carrot, julienned
1 Small Green Zucchini, julienned
6 Scallions, chopped (divided)
Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/2 -3/4 Cups Oyster Sauce

Bring 6-8 cups water to boil in large pot, remove from heat add rice noodles and let sit for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat, add one teaspoon sesame oil and sauté shrimp until cooked through, 3-5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add another teaspoon sesame oil to pan along with carrot, zucchini and 4 of the scallions, sauté for about 2-3 minutes until slightly softened.
Add sugar, soy sauce, ½ cup oyster sauce, rice noodles, and shrimp. Sauté for 2 minutes stirring to coat the noodles completely with sauce. Add more oyster sauce if necessary. Sprinkle with remaining scallions and serve.