Was "Thai Curry Lunch"

On 29 May 2008 19:55:30 GMT, Nick Cramer
> wrote:

>ankalime > wrote:
>> On May 28, 9:40=A0pm, Nick Cramer > wrote:
>> > FBG 80. Before lunch 97. Lunch was very spicy Green Curry with Fish
>> > Balls (Thai Gaeng Ki Wan Pla Bot) followed by 12 blueberries. One hour
>> > PP BG 112=
>>
>> Ooooohh..... curry.... I love Thai food. I used to meet a friend for
>> lunch at a little Thai place every week back in the day. Unfortunately
>> there is none to be had where I live now.
>>
>> There was red snapper in red pepper sauce and basil.... and my
>> favorite, panang beef... and satay with cool cucumber slices... and
>> tom kha gai... *sigh*.
>>
>> And how lucky are you, to be able to enjoy such treasures in your own
>> home! You two are welcome to visit us anytime.
>
>Thanks, Cindy. You can make your own. Do you have my wife's recipes?
>
>http://sqwertzme.googlepages.com/JunThai.htm

Hi Nick, and all

I had Amok in Cambodia and loved it. When I looked at Thai
Haw Mok in your wife's list the Thai equivalent seems quite
different. So I'll try that shortly.

In the meantime I did some searching on the net, found a
variety of recipes, and modified them to ingredients in my
pantry.

This was the first attempt and came out quite tasty,
although I need to perfect the art of making the cabbage
parcels without splitting the leaves. Next time I may try
serving it in coconuts, as I had it in Siem Reap (see the
third photo):
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/2008/03/cambodia.html

It's a work in progress, as I'll keep experimenting with
proportions and I'm open to improvement suggestions.

Ingredients

Serves Two

1 smallish Garlic clove
1 small onion
Hot chili to taste (optional, I used a tiny bit of a
birdseye)
1 piece peeled ginger, about 2cm (3/4")
1 piece of lemongrass, about 5cm (2")
1/4 tspn turmeric
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 heaped tbsp coconut cream powder
2 tspn Splenda
water as needed

Fillets, approx 200-250gms(8-10 oz) of white fish (cod,
haddock, dory or similar - I used Nile Perch)

Sufficient banana leaves or outside cabbage leaves to make
four parcels.

Substitutions can be made - root galangal for ginger,
coconut milk for the powder and water, sugar for splenda
(subject to your meter), a coconut shell for the leaves etc.

Salt and pepper to taste - be careful, the fish sauce is
quite salty and there is already heat in the ginger and
chili. However, I always add a grating of pepper in any
turmeric dish as they complement each other.

Chop the dry ingredients except the onion and crush, adding
one at a time, in a mortar and pestle or just do the lazy
thing and dump the lot in a food processor. Add the spices,
fish sauce, coconut powder (or coconut milk) and just enough
water to form a watery thin paste and mix well. Chop the
onion by hand and add it last to add some texture.

Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan; rinse out the
mortar with a little extra water to get all the mix and add
that to the saucepan. Bring it to a slow simmer and cook,
stirring when needed, for a few minutes until thickened to a
sauce consistency that "blobs" off the spoon, not too runny.
In the meantime, steam or simmer the cabbage leaves until
they are soft, and set them aside until the sauce is ready.
If using banana leaves, cut into 20cm (8") squares.

Cut the fish fillets into small chunks and place 1/4 of the
fish in each leaf. Pour sufficient sauce over each fish
portion to thoroughly coat them, reserving the remaining
sauce. Fold the leaves into secure parcels (that's where I
had fun:-)

Steam the parcels for about an hour. Two parcels is a serve.

Just before serving (usually served with rice, that's up to
you and your meter) re-heat the reserved sauce, slit the
centre of each parcel open and spoon the sauce on top.

When I try the coconut shell alternative instead of leaves,
I'll add the fish to the sauce with a little extra water and
simmer until done. Using that method I may add a few more
veges (broccoli, cauli, green onions, capsicum[peppers] etc)
to the finished product at the simmer stage, then transfer
to the coconut when done. Of course, you could just use a
soup bowl:-)

The dish served in Siem Reap was the consistency of a thick
soup. For the leaves version I made it thicker.

Rough numbers per serve, with cabbage:
Calories 100
Protein(g) 18
Fat(g) 2
Carbohydrate(g) 7


Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia.
--
d&e, metformin 1500mg, ezetrol 10mg
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alan_s/
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com
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