You know what I've realized? Say I'm walking down the street, trying to figure out which to-go place to hit up for dinner. Start to think about what I'm in the mood for - definitely not something I could make myself....Naan n Curry, or Thai Basil, maybe Le Cheval or....I hear that Mandarin House has a special combo on Thursdays... Much deliberation and I finally settle on a place. I order, wait 20 minutes, grab my plastic box of Dinner #5, an extra plastic fork (or chopsticks, depending) and go on my way. In that process, somehow $10 has disappeared from my wallet and ughh......should have gone with #6. Why do we do this to ourselves? Why is it a choice between same-old at home or expensive ethnic food that isn't even that great from a take-out place down the street? Can anyone stop us from making tasty ethnic food in our own kitchens? (imagine me saying this with an unreasonable amount of passion for the issue): NO!! ....So let's start with the Thai curry.
Ok, I agree, how difficult it is to make good ethnic food depends a lot on the availability of certain less common ingredients. I have a car, so it is easy for me to drive to the Asian grocery store across town and pick up things like coconut milk, curry paste and satay sauce. But don't be too hard on the local Safeway or Trader Joes - they stock these items too. You may have to reach behind a 20 pack of mac n cheese (jk I love that stuff), but you'll find the curry paste. I promise.
Oh, and for the record, I put "pumpkin" curry in italics because, well, that isn't a pumpkin. It's a Kabocha squash used in Thailand to make curries. We make the real deal around here.
Oops, did I just do that? Must have thought it was a pumpkin for a sec. I can never get too serious about my cooking.
Maybe I should come clean, the reason why I chose to make Thai pumpkin curry is......very personal. I have an obsession for the stuff that comes from a tiny, grungy Thai place near campus. But, I just know that my love is not reciprocated. It's not the 20 minute wait, it's not the obvious lack of sanitation....It's that whenever I order my curry to go, I get the dirtiest look from the Thai woman at the counter who says (every time!) "pumpkin curry doesn't DO TO-GO." (I'm sorry, I'm sorry!! Um...extra chopsticks?) I finally decided that it was time to move on with my life and just break-up with "to-go".
..............................And then there were...Chicken meatballs!
This recipe has absolutely nothing to do with my break-up with ethnic food to-go. Seriously? I just really love meatballs. And especially these chicken ones; they don't mess around!
Here we go - I know how to relate these two recipes. The first? Different, unexpected coming from your home kitchen and with unusual ingredients. This one? Surprisingly simple and using things you probably have in your pantry right now. There we go, mission accomplished.
Next step? Mix all of those common, easy to find ingredients together in a bowl. This was the really fun part for me - getting in there and smooshing around that ground chicken. The physical parts of cooking - like getting your hands into the bowl, kneading bread dough or taking a butcher knife to a pumpkin - really work out all of your frustrations about the day. And that's why we do it, right? Cook because it's relaxing, because we enjoy it, and because at the end of it all, we're rewarded with something truly yummy.
Bye bye to-go, hello left-overs!
Try something different, or maybe just see an old favorite in a new light. Whatever you do, keep cooking....
Thai "Pumpkin" Curry
Own Recipe
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 1/2 of one Kabocha squash or 1 small pumpkin (can also substitute with a couple cans of pumpkin cubes)
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 medium carrot
- 2 small Thai chilies (or other chili of your choice)
- 4 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 3 tbsp satay sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp oil (canola works fine)
- 1 (14 oz) can coconut milk
- 8 fl oz water
- 1 small lime
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- Basil for garnishing
- Thinly slice onion into rings. Heat oil in large pot over medium, add onions and fry until soft (3-4 min)
- Add the curry paste, satay sauce, cumin and cinnamon. Stir to coat onions and allow to fry for another minute or so until spices become fragrant
- Zest lime into pot with coconut milk, fish sauce and water. Finely dice chilies and add to pot. Stir together and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, reduce heat and cover with lid. Cook for another 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Dice squash/pumpkin into 1 inch cubes, coarsely chop carrot and bell pepper. Add squash/pumpkin and carrot to pot after curry has cooked for 40 minutes. After 5 minutes, add bell pepper. Leave lid off and cook for another 5 minutes, until squash/pumpkin is tender and sauce has begun to thicken.
- Serve with rice, squeeze juice from lime on top and garnish with chopped basil
Chicken Meatballs
Adapted from Gourmet
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 3 slices Italian bread (about 1 cup when torn into pieces)
- 1/2 cup milk
- (optional: 3 oz bacon)
- 1 small onion
- 1 medium celery stick
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lb chicken
- 5tbsp tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp parsley
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Tear bread into small pieces, soak in milk for 5 minutes
- Finely chop onion, celery and garlic. Cook bacon (if using) in large skillet over medium heat to render out fat, then add onion, celery and garlic. If not using bacon, just cook the vegetables in 1 tbsp oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion has softened, about 5 min. Set aside to cool.
- Squeeze bread to remove excess milk, then discard milk. Finely chop bread.
- Whisk egg. Combine chicken, 2 tbsp tomato sauce, bacon/onion/garlic/celery mixture, bread, parsley, cumin, cayenne pepper and egg. Get in there and mix it with your hands.
- Form into meatballs. These can be of any size, depending on how you foresee eating them. Making smaller, 2 inch diameter meatballs would be good for spaghetti and meatballs. Larger 3 inch meatballs would be nice by themselves with a side of veggies. It depends on what you want! Arrange meatballs on pan (not a cookie sheet- you need something that will catch the juices as these things cook) sprayed with cooking oil. Brush with remaining 3 tbsp tomato sauce.
- Cook until meatballs cooked through, about 20 minutes. A good way to tell when they are cooked through? When the internal temp reaches a safe 165 degrees
Good to have a thermometer like this one lying around. (I actually got it for free!)
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