The first time I had Thai Green Curry was at a tiny restaurant in Cocoa Beach, FL. The reviews were not stellar but we decided to chance it being on vacation and all. We decided to do take out, so we called ahead and ordered. At 7pm we popped up at the restaurant and it was ghost town! Not one customer. At this point we started getting worried because maybe the food was worse than the reviews. The owner was extremely friendly and even gave us a free bottle of plum wine after a 15-minute chat about mutual interests.
We get the order and rush back to the hotel filled with trepidation. We opened up the containers and a beautiful savoury aroma filled the air. Nervously, we tasted the curry and BOOM….absolutely amazing! Spicy with a hint of sweet, creamy but not too thick and off-putting. Tons of beautifully cooked vegetables. tender scallops and shrimp. The food was so good we had lunch there the following day and again the food was fantastic. I can’t remember the name of the restaurant but next time we are on that side of Florida I will definitely take photos and post!
So recently, I had a craving for this creamy, yet light curry and decided to try making it….here’s my version
Ingredients (enough for 4 servings)
2 lobster tails (washed, cut in half and cleaned thoroughly)
10 medium shrimp (washed, deveined and cleaned thoroughly)
10 medium sea scallops (washed)
2 tablespoons green seasoning
6 asparagus spears (washed and halved)
2 baby Bella mushrooms (wiped clean and sliced)
1/2 red bell pepper (washed, cut lengthwise into strips)
10 snow peas (washed)
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots (drained)
2 sprigs scallions (washed, finely chopped)
1 shallot (washed, finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
4 chadon beni/cilantro leaves (washed, finely chopped)
5 pimento peppers (washed, finely chopped)
1 bottle of Thai green curry paste
1 can of coconut milk
1 tsp brown sugar
Jalapeno peppers
Celery or Parsley
2tsp chili garlic sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Jasmine rice
*****Basil and kefir leaves which are key ingredients in the authentic dish have been omitted from my dish but are present in the store bought curry paste.
******THIS IS NOT AN AUTHENTIC RECIPE
Method
Wash and thoroughly clean seafood. Season seafood using 2 tablespoons of green seasoning, salt and 1 tsp spoon of each of the following chadon beni, pimento peppers, scallions, garlic and shallots. Set aside.
In a non stick saucepan, add 1tsp of olive oil and sauté half of the remaining items chadon beni, pimento peppers, scallions, garlic and shallots. Add 2tsp Thai green curry paste and cook for 2mins on medium heat. Add 2 cups of coconut milk, 1tsp of brown sugar, salt and pepper to preference and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low and allow flavors to develop.
Cook Jasmine rice according to packet directions.
In a separate pot sauté veggies lightly (approximately 3mins) and set aside.
Finally, add 2tsp of oil to a frying pan on high heat. Add seafood to pan and cook (approximately 5mins) until shrimp and lobster are pink/red and scallops are opaque.
Add vegetables to green curry sauce and turn heat up to medium, after 5mins, add seafood to curry sauce and any juices the seafood would have released. Simmer for another 2mins. Add the remaining chadon beni, pimento peppers, scallions, garlic and shallots. Salt to your preference and add chili garlic sauce.
Serve with jasmine rice, using celery, jalapenos and parsley as garnish!
hotnjuicyplums 