Panang Thai Curry

There is a little Thai restaurant that my mom and used to go to for lunch in Madison (the name escapes me right now) and it had the BEST Thai curry. I have been searching for a comparable recipe for years, and I think I've found it. This simple dish brings all of the flavor of a Thai curry that you can replicate at home, with relatively common ingredients. I've made this dish a couple of times now and its great every time. (I made it once even for my mom, who agrees that it's just like the restaurant.)


If you decide to make this, which I hope you do, don't judge it until you've let it simmer for a while. I will admit that it seems a bit bland at first, but once all of the flavors have come together, you're going to love this exotic yet comforting dinner.

Panang Curry
Makes 4 to 6 servings

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons finely grated peeled ginger
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Sriracha
1 cup chicken/veggie stock
1 13 1/2-to 14-ounce can organic light coconut milk
3 kaffir lime leaves or 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime peel
1 tablespoon (firmly packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/2 cups 1/4- to 1/3-inch-thick slices peeled carrots (about 4 medium)
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 large boneless-skinless chicken breast, 1 inch cubes or 2 14-ounce packages organic firm tofu, drained, cut into 1-inch cubes 1 1/2

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots, ginger, and garlic; cook until shallots are tender, about 6 minutes. Add peanut butter, turmeric, cumin, and chili paste; stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 cup stock, then coconut milk, lime leaves, and brown sugar; bring to simmer. Season sauce with salt. Add cubed chicken (or tofu), carrots, and bell pepper; simmer over medium-low heat until carrots are tender, adjusting heat to low if beginning to boil and occasionally stirring gently, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Cool slightly, cover, and chill. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.

Serve with basmati rice:
16 oz. Basmati Rice
28 oz. Chicken/Veggie stock
1 sm yellow onion, diced
1 lg clove garlic, pealed and smashed
2 Tbsp Olive oil

Add olive oil, onion and whole garlic clove to pot over medium-low heat. Sweat the onion over low heat for about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic. Add the stock and rice, and turn the heat to high to bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Adapted from Bon Appétit | February 2009 by Jeanne Thiel Kelley on 10/17/09

Lettuce Wraps

Please don't be scared off by what I am about to tell you.

Monday night I was bored and I wanted to make something I had never done before. I spent at least half an hour going through my cupboards/fridge in a sorry attempt to create something new. I began to digress and wash the bags of lettuce from my most recent trip to the grocery store. As I rinsed the butter lettuce leaves I had an idea - Asian Lettuce Wraps. But I had just used my ground pork in another dish , what would I do? Ah ha! Use the leftover half brick of tofu!

Tofu Lettuce Wraps turned out delicious. I diced the tofu very finely with a minced onion, and chopped button mushrooms, all of which I sauteed in a little toasted sesame oil with Chinese five spice. Then I added a broccoli slaw mix (I also used it as the garnish in the photo) which is shredded broccoli stems & carrot - so I ran my knife through it until it was fine and added about 1 cup of that as well. Then I simmered the mixture in low sodium soy sauce, sriracha (a chili paste available in all grocery stores), rice vinegar, honey (yes Samantha - you can leave it out), and some water. At the very end, I made a slurry of water and cornstarch and added that to thicken the sauce without adding fat. Not bad for a) never doing this before, and b) for not having a recipe.

I also happened to have a bag of edamames (soybeans) in the freezer, so I made those as well. They are so easy; just boil them for 5 minutes and you are done. When you eat edamames, they have salt on them and you dip them in soy sauce and get the beans out of the pod. I skipped the salt after the were cooked, and mixed some sriracha in the low sodium soy - delish!

Let me know if anyone wants the vague recipe I have in my head, or if you have a recipe for lettuce wraps I could look at. I am not as familiar with Asian ingredients/spices yet, so it is harder for me to cook on the fly. I appreciate any help.