Recipe: Yellow Thai Chicken Curry with Potatoes (Gang Garee Gai)

Yellow Thai chicken curry, seen as Gang Garee Gai or Kaeng Kari on English menus, is one of the most fragrant and hearty curries in Thai cuisine.

The essence of making Thai curries is to heat the thick creamy part of the coconut milk until the oil and milk separates, and then frying it with curry paste until it becomes fragrant. If you get this part right, the rest is simple. If the coconut milk does not split, it may be because emulsifiers were added to it. If this is the case, just fry the curry paste with coconut milk until it is fragrant. If you cook the curry long enough, the coconut milk will eventually split.

If you are not making your own curry paste, make sure you buy a good quality one, as this will make all the difference. A paste made in Thailand is your best bet. The Mae Ploy or Mae Sri brands are preferred.

Yellow curry paste is a combination of lemon grass, garlic, shallot, galangal, dried red chilli, corriander seed, kaffir lime peel, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, and cardamom.

Yellow Thai Chicken Curry with Potatoes (Gang Garee Gai)
- 250mL - 400mL of coconut milk (I used 250mL. Using a bit more will make it creamier)
- 2 Tbsp yellow curry paste
- 1 pound of chicken
- 1 large onion, cut into 4 wedges
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 cups of water
- 4-5 Tbsp fish sauce (start with 4 and add another if you want more taste)
- 1 tsp palm sugar

Method
1. In a large pot, heat the thick creamy part of the coconut milk (the part that rises to the top) until the oil and milk separates. Add the curry paste and fry until fragrant. Add in the rest of the coconut milk and chicken and cook for 1 minute. Add water, fish sauce and onions and simmer until the chicken is cooked. If using chicken thigh or legs, cooking time is approx 30 minutes. If using chicken breast only, cooking time will be slightly shorter.

2. Add the potatoes and simmer until potatoes are cooked, approximately 15 - 20 minutes. Stir in the palm sugar and mix well. Serve hot with Jasmine rice.

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Recipe: Lebanese Beef and Potato Stew

This is an authentic Lebanese recipe that will hit the spot if you're in the mood for something stew-y and warm. This stew can be eaten on its own or in true Lebanese style, with pita bread. This recipe calls for allspice and cinnamon, which adds a nice subtle spicy taste.

Beware of the imitation allspice that is sold in some grocery stores. The real stuff is a dried unripe fruit from the Pimenta dioica tree native to Mexico and Central America, and not a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

The name allspice was coined in the 17th century because the taste resembled the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

This recipe yields 4-6 large servings.

Lebanese Beef and Potato Stew
- 1 large onion, diced
- 0.5kg ground beef
- 5 small potatoes, peeled and cut in quarters
- 4 Chinese eggplants, peeled and cut in quarters
- 2 hot house tomatoes, chopped
- 4 carrots, peeled and cut in 2 inch pieces
- 1/3 cup of basmati rice
- 3 Tbsp of tomato paste
- 4 cups of water
- 1/8 - 1/4 tsp all spice (depends on your taste)
- 2 large pinches of cinnamon
- salt + pepper to taste
- extra virgin olive oil

Method
1. Sprinkle the eggplant with salt and let it sit until it starts to release water. Approx 5-15 minutes. Pat the eggplant dry with a paper towel. This gets rid of the bitter taste in the eggplant. In an oiled pan, pan fry the eggplant until soft.

2. In an oiled casserole pot, saute the onions until translucent (approx 3 minutes). Add the ground beef and saute until the beef is 3/4 of the way cooked.  Add the potatoes and carrots and saute for another 3-5 minutes to blend the flavors.

3. Add water, tomato paste, tomatoes, all spice, cinnamon, salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the rice stir well and then lay the eggplant softly into the stew. Simmer for another 25 minutes. Once the eggplant is added, do not stir the pot too much as it will break the eggplant.

4. If you find the stew is not watery enough, add more water. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot with bread or rice.

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Slow Cooked Tarragon Carrots and Potatoes

This is an awesome side dish recipe if you're looking for something hearty, comforting and healthy. I love the fresh tarragon in this dish, mainly because I don't get to use it very often. This recipe makes a good amount so this is a great dish for a dinner party.

This recipes yields 6-8 servings.

Slow Cooked Tarragon Carrots and Potatoes
- 2 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 2-3 inch sticks
- 15 little potatoes, quartered
- 2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 cup of vegetable broth
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 Tbsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 lemon, zest
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp grainy mustard
- salt
- olive oil

Method
1. In a large casserole pot, combine olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt and saute carrots for 10-15 minutes. They should be just cooked but not overly soft. Remove from pot. Set aside.

2. In the same casserole pot, combine some more olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt and saute garlic and potatoes for 5 minutes. Add broth and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.

3. Add the carrots, frozen peas, spinach and zest until spinach has wilted. Approximately 2-3 minutes.

4. In a bowl mix lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard and grainy mustard. Pour it into the vegetables and mix well. Serve hot.

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Roasted Root Stew

This stew was influenced by my recent dinner at Zen Kitchen. Chef Caroline Ishii served me a hearty root vegetable pot pie that I've been thinking about ever since.

I finally stopped dreaming, and decided to make my own stew instead. I bought up all the root vegetables I could find, and got cooking. My mother-in-law started adding apple cider to her soups, so I decided to do the same with my stew. This gave the dish a nice slight tang. What I really like about this stew is its strong rustic and earthy taste.

This recipe yields 6-8 servings.

Roasted Root Stew
- 1 cup of carrots, diced
- 2 cups of sweet potatoes, diced
- 1 cup of parsnips, diced
- 1 cup of white turnips, diced
- 1 cup of small red potatoes, diced
- 1 1/2 cups of yellow beets, diced
- 1 cup of red beets, diced
- 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
- 1 leek, white and light green parts roughly chopped
- 3 cups of vegetable stock or water
- 1 1/4 cup of apple cider
- 1 tsp of dried rosemary
- 2-3 Bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp of fresh sage, finely chopped
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper
- extra virgin olive oil

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F/175C. Toss the root vegetables in some olive oil. Season with 1 tsp of rosemary, and some salt + pepper. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Spread the vegetables on the baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes. If your vegetables are crowded like mine were, stir the vegetables half way through baking to avoid steaming.

2. In a pot, sautee the leeks, celery, garlic, and sage for 10 minutes. Add the roasted root vegetables, apple cider, thyme, and bay leaves to the pot. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the broth to the pot, and simmer for 40 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Right before the stew is done cooking, sift in the flour to thicken up the stew. Discard the bay leaves and thyme. Serve hot.

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The Chip Maker: Microwaved Chips

 

Believe it or not, the chips pictured above were made by microwave. Yes, like you, I thought it was a gross idea... until I tried them *blush*.

Wals' sister was recently in Taiwan, and bought him a "Chip Maker". Being too lazy to make his own chips, he figured I would make better use of the contraption. Being the food dork I am, I was excited by the gift, and ran home to use it.

In reality, this chip maker really isn't a chip maker. It is a mandoline + chip container that you can put in the microwave.

Here's how this puppy works:

You slice your potatoes.

Throw your potato slices, with some seasoning, onto the chip carousel.

Microwave for 5-8 minutes, and ta da!

I made regular potato chips and sweet potato chips, and both tasted good. These were the flavors I tried:

- sea salt and pepper (excellent).
- cayenne pepper and salt (not bad...they were spicy).
- Terriyaki (Wouldn't try this at home, stick to dry salty spices. I used a terriyaki marinade and the sugars completely burnt the chips).

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Sweet Potato and Leek Soup

Winter is approaching fast. You can just feel it in the air. The cold weather always prompts me to make hearty soups that not only warm up the body, but the soul as well.

The grocery store had leeks and sweet potatoes on special this week, and they were just sitting side by side like they were meant to be together. This, I thought, would be the perfect opportunity to use that sweet potato and leek soup recipe that's been stowed away. I got the recipe from a friend, and never got around to making it...until now, that is.

When I brought the groceries into my car, the aroma of the leeks filled the vehicle up quickly, which made me even more excited to make my soup. This is a very flavourful soup that tastes just like what it is made up of: sweet potato and leek. Serve this with a warm baguette, and you're set.

This recipe serves 6 - 8.

Sweet Potato and Leek Soup

- 8 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

- 2 1/2 pounds of sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

- 3 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)

- 3 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped

- salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine the sweet potatoes, leeks, chives, salt, pepper, and broth in a pot and bring to a boil

2. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are soft (approx 30 - 45 minutes)

3. Remove from heat and let the soup cool

4. Transfer the soup mixture to a blender and purée

5. Re-heat the soup on a low setting and serve

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