Asparagus, Zucchini and Chickpea Green Curry

 


This is the second time I've made this tasty recipe.  Great for a quick weeknight meal...even faster to make if you happen to have pre-cooked grain in your freezer.  We ate this over rice last night, but I loved it over red quinoa the first time I made it.  Easy peasy.  If you have a hard time finding kaffir lime leaves, you can use lime zest for a pale approximation of the flavor kaffir leaves would impart.  I had to sub the first time I made the recipe. When you DO find the leaves, know that you can keep them in the freezer in a good ziplock bag so they'll last a lot longer.  Was thrilled that Central Market in Austin finally had them again the other day!  Apologies for the crumby IPhone pix...

Printable Recipe
Asparagus, Zucchini and Chickpea Green Curry:
(Closet Cooking's blog)

Servings: makes 4 servings

1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste (Closet Cooking has a homemade recipe for this, I just used Thai Kitchen's paste)
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk (I've used full fat and light with great results either way)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (I've never used it before, but you could sub a vegetarian version of fish sauce)
 juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons sugar (I used coconut palm sugar)
2 kaffir lime leaves, sliced (I prefer to add the leaf in whole and fish it out at the end of cooking)
1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 pound zucchini, sliced
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and sliced
1 handful Thai basil, or basil
red Thai chilies, sliced
Sriracha sauce, to serve and spice things up a bit more




Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add the curry paste and saute until fragrant, about a minute.

Add the coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, lime leaves and chickpeas, bring to a near boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the zucchini and asparagus and simmer until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and serve garnished with fresh basil and sliced red chilies.

Coconut-Curry Chicken Soup

Alright, all these Christmas goodies are starting to get to me. I've been going on and on about what a sugar fiend my father is and was on his recent visit, when really, I'm just as much of one!!! Maybe I thought I could deflect some of the attention from my own sugar monster tendencies if I went on and on about how taking my sweet foddah to a store that just happened to have candy/cookies/ice cream there was like trying to drag a non-reasonable 4 year old through the most candy laden checkout line at a grocery store all the while saying "no, no, no". Alas, tis my cross to bear too. If it's in the house, I want it. This soup might help. Unfortunately, the original recipe from Cooking Light falls short in the flavor department. Not a problem if you're up for adding a pinch of this and a splash of that though! Only problem is that I don't have any amounts to list...just the extra ingredients.
All just as well in any regard, since we all like different levels of spice, sour, sweet, etc. anyway.
The monster really dug this one after said tweaking of the recipe had occured, so I'm posting it.
If only to be one of the few food blogs I read that doesn't have cookies, etc. posted AGAIN.
Plus it's been ages and my buddy James is way over seeing the teff pancakes post. :-)

Coconut-Curry Chicken Soup:
(Adapted from Cooking Light)

4 cups water
3 cups fresh spinach leaves (I used more than 3 cups)
1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
1 (5 3/4-ounce) package pad thai noodles; wide rice stick noodles (I use the equivalent weight of Tinkyada's Brown Rice Fettuccini noodles...they're just fabulous!)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 small hot red chiles, seeded and chopped, or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
7 lime wedges
I added some rice wine vinegar, more fish sauce, and some sirachi chili sauce, more lime, and probably more salt. Just keep adding and tasting til you're happy with it. :-) Oooh, add lemongrass if you've got it! That's what it was missing!

Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add spinach and peas to pan; cook for 30 seconds. Remove vegetables from pan with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add noodles to pan; cook 3 minutes (or if using the brown rice noodles as per package instructions). Drain; add noodles to spinach mixture in bowl.

Heat canola oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and the next 5 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth to pan, and bring to a boil. Add coconut milk to pan; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken, onions, sugar, and fish sauce to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Pour chicken mixture over noodle mixture in bowl. Stir in cilantro and chiles. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with lime wedges (I added some lime juice into the soup before even serving).

Tilapia with Thai Coconut-Curry Sauce, Japanese Carrot Dressing

This is one of our favorite meals. I made this for my family while in California and my aunt hasn't stopped making it since! Good for a quick weeknight meal, or even nice enough for company. You can make the sauce ahead of time so you're not too harried while the fish is broiling. Just set it to the back of the stove and gently rewarm before serving if necessary.
Look for never frozen, fresh tilapia that's US farm-raised. Natural, if you can get it...no added hormones, etc. It's only about 2 bucks more per pound and in my book, totally worth it. The salad, albeit of Japanese influence, was a great compliment to the coconut-curry sauce.


Broiled Tilapia with Thai Coconut-Curry Sauce: (Cooking Light)

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil, divided (I actually use a lighter blend of canola and sesame)
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup chopped green onions (they look pretty cut on the bias)
1 teaspoon curry powder (use hot or mild)
2 teaspoons red curry paste (or more if you're daring)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 teaspoons soy sauce (the recipe calls for low-sodium which I didn't have, just adjust the salt down)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (I subbed agave nectar)
~1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk (this dish is crazy good with whole fat coconut milk, but well...it's reaaaaally fattening. :-) I did go back to using the lite this time, but sometimes I use a half and half mix. Buy a can of regular and a can of lite, mix the two, and freeze the rest in 1/2 cup measures for future use.)
2 tablespoons or more, chopped fresh cilantro
4 (6-ounce) farm-raised natural tilapia fillets (I just used 2 really big filets, we have extra sauce and rice for lunch the next day)
Cooking spray
hot cooked brown basmati rice
lime wedges

Preheat broiler.

Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add pepper and onions; cook 1 minute. Stir in curry powder, curry paste, and cumin; cook 1 minute. Add soy sauce, sugar (agave), 1/4 teaspoon salt, and coconut milk; bring to a simmer (do not boil). Remove from heat; stir in cilantro.

Brush fish with 1/2 teaspoon oil; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 7 minutes (I flipped our large 8oz filets over at 6 minutes, and broiled for an additional 3 minutes for a perfectly done, moist fish) or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve fish with sauce, rice, and lime wedges.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet, 1/2 cup sauce, 3/4 cup rice, and 1 lime wedge)

CALORIES 506 (30% from fat); FAT 17.1g (sat 5.9g,mono 6g,poly 2.5g); PROTEIN 29g; CHOLESTEROL 82mg; CALCIUM 47mg; SODIUM 616mg; FIBER 3.1g; IRON 2.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 56.6g



Japanese Ginger-Carrot Dressing:

We love this dressing that's always served at our favorite sushi restaurant. I found this recipe online and it's really, really good. I tend to use more carrots than called for...about a fistful of baby-sized carrots, but I'll type up as written and you do as you like. If it's a little too thick with the extra carrots just add a small amount of water to thin. I used orange juice last night and it just changed the flavor too much. It should be fairly thick. Just dollop a good amount in the center of your salad and scoop some up with each bite. Delish!
All of these ingredients can be increased to your taste of course.

1 small carrot (or more)
1 Tbs mirin (orig. recipe calls for 2, just add one then taste)
2 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs soy sauce
couple drops dark sesame oil
1 Tbs prepared mustard (not French's)
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger root

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Well covered, it keeps in the fridge for about a week.