Traveling Chili » Eggplants

Chicken Green Curry Gaeng Keeo Waan Gai

michael — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:59:33 +0000

Green curry is perhaps the most ubiquitous of all Thai curries. You’ll find it on the menu in practically every restaurant in the kingdom, and it makes a frequent appearance at the curry stalls. Although the dish has its origins in the central plains, it’s found and appreciated throughout the country. Much of the attraction of green curry is its flexibility. It works well not only with rice, but is also quite popular as a topping for the spaghetti like rice noodles called khanom jeen. It has also proved quite popular for adding a Thai twist to Italian pastas. The flexibility also extends to the meats used. Although chicken is the most common, you’ll find almost any meat used in green curries, from beef and pork to fresh water fish.

Chicken Green Curry

Green Curry Paste

First, you have to make the green curry paste.

Ingredients

Green spur chillies	20 g
Green mouse dropping chillies	20 g
Shallots	20 g	sliced
Garlic	20 g
Galangal	5 g	finely chopped
Lemongrass	10 g	sliced
Kaffir lime peel	2 g	finely chopped
Coriander leaves	10 g	chopped
Black peppercorns	3 g
Roasted coriander seeds	5 g
Cumin	5 g
Prawn paste (kapi)	5 g	optional
Salt	5 g

To prepare the curry paste, grind all of the ingredients together until you have a smooth paste. Store excess paste refrigerated in a tightly sealed jar. It will keep for several weeks at least. In fact, it’s best if you make the paste a day or two before you need it. The paste tends to get better with a little age!

Chicken Green Curry Recipe

(Serves 4)

Ingredients


Green Curry Paste	1 Tbsp
Chicken	60 g
Thai Eggplants	20 g
Pea Eggplants	40 g
Sweet Basil	3 g
Coconut Milk	280 g
Red Spur Chillies	5 g
Kaffir Lime Leaves	5 g
Palm Sugar	½ Tbsp
Chicken Bullion Powder	10 g
Fish Sauce	1 Tbsp
Vegetable Oil	1½ Tbsp
Fresh Milk	¼ Tbsp

Preparation Method

Fry the green curry paste in vegetable oil until the aroma is released. Add the thick portion of the coconut milk and continue stir-frying until the aroma returns.
Add chicken and when the chicken is about half cooked, add the remaining coconut milk.
Add eggplants and lime leaves. When cooked through, add seasoning: chicken powder, fish sauce, palm sugar, fresh milk, chillies and sweet basil leaves.

Eggplants Ma-kua

michael — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:11:34 +0000

Eggplants are very important in many Thai dishes, although you could say their role is more of a "supporting" character. Eggplants are thought to have originated in South-east Asia, and you can still find a seemingly infinite variety of eggplants in Thai markets. Eggplants apparently made their way to India by ancient trade routes, and from there to the Mediterranean.

The most common eggplants on sale in a Chiang Mai market.

The types of eggplants Thais use most are quite different from their large elongated deep purple colored western counterparts. Although small versions of the purple variety can be found, the most commonly used type is called ma-kua pro in Thai. In English it is variously known as brinjal, apple eggplant or just plain Thai eggplant. It is about the size of a ping-pong ball with a curiously variegated skin that zigzags from off-white to dark green. Ma-kua pro is sometimes served raw with chili dips, but it is probably most recognizable as an ingredient of green curries.

In green curries, ma-kua pro is joined by the small pea-sized ma-kua puang. Ma-kua puang are somewhat bitter to taste, although the bitterness is reduced the longer they are cooked. Both types of eggplants can be difficult to find. Frozen green peas simulate the appearance if not the taste of ma-kua puang. The best substitute for ma-kua pro is probably zucchini.

The small purple version of the eggplant is called ma-kua muang lek, which directly translates to "small purple eggplant". These vegetables are sometimes fried with fermented soy beans or an egg yolk batter. Another commonly seen type of eggplant is the yellow eggplant, known in Thai as ma-kua luang. These are about the same size as brinjal, but the skin of the ripe eggplant is bright yellow in color. There’s a bit of spiciness to this vegetable, which is why it’s sometimes used in spicy Thai salads. Finally, there’s a long thin green eggplant that sometimes is known as a Japanese eggplant, or oriental eggplant. In Thai, its just plain ma-kua yao, or "long eggplant."

Eggplants must be cut using a knife with a stainless steel blade. Any other metal will discolor the flesh. Eggplants must be used or served immediately after being cut or else they will turn a rather unappetizing shade of black.