Thai Curry

One of B's favorite is Thai food. We actually have a favorite Thai restaurant called Jasmine in Franklin, TN. We have never experienced Thai cuisine quite like it. So I have been yearning to recreate the penang curry at home but did not have a clue where to start. In my first attempt, I tried what looked like like an easy way to make green curry in a hurry. I used the ingredients I had on hand, which did not include the krachai, kaffir lime leaves and basil. I used dry lemongrass instead of fresh. The dry lemongrass is supposed to be soaked in water, but when I ground it up in the paste like it says, we had a very hairy curry. The green curry in a hurry was a little too thin a consistency than we would have preferred. Overall, we decided that there was definite room for improvement. Then one day I bought this small jar of Asian Kitchen red curry paste. I followed the recipe on the label, used fresh basil and used regular ginger in place of galangal. It turned out a lot better than my first try. Here's the recipe ...

2 tbsp Asian Kitchen red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp Thai basil
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp galangal
2 tsp sambal olek
4 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
vegetables (onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, snow peas)
extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed
wedges of lime, as garnish

1. Heat 1 can of coconut milk with about 2 tbsp paste and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.
2. Add 1/3 cup water as well as brown sugar, vegetables, and galangal/ginger next and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.
3. While that is cooking, stir fry the tofu in a little oil in pan until golden brown.
4. Add the tofu next and let cook on simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. Adjust per taste. WE like all things spicy, so I added about 2 tsp of sambal olek and soy sauce as well.
6. Garnish with Thai basil and cilantro.
7. Serve hot over brown rice with wedges of lime on the side. Enjoy!

The red curry turned out really good. We enjoyed it and would make it again for sure.