Thai Curry

The longer I experiment in the kitchen, the more ethnic the recipes get.  I love the fact that I don't cook the same types of foods over and over and over.  When planning a weekly menu, I usually try for a few chicken recipes, some soups, a few seafood inspired dishes, some Italian pastas, and lately I've been trying out the Asian/Thai food group.  When I saw this Thai Curry dish with Shrimp, I knew I had to try it.

While shopping for ingredients, I ran into a few problems:  I could not find red curry paste (so I used green) and I could not find fish sauce (so I omitted it).  I'm sure the final result was pretty different from what was originally intended, but this came out pretty well.  I'm extremely curious to make it with the red curry paste in the future, as red curry and coconut milk are always a perfect match.  I left the ingredients in the recipe as written in the recipe, but you will notice in the pictures that I do not have a "red" curry sauce so I wanted to mention this upfront. 

The recipe stressed the importance of the fried shallots, but I could have gone without them.  They didn't make (or break) the dish for me.  This is a time consuming recipe, but well worth it if you are in the mood for some homemade Thai food!

Thai Curry Noodles with Shrimp

Ingredients

Lo mein noodles or thin spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
vegetable oil
1 cup shallots, sliced into rounds
salt
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons flour
3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons fish sauce, or more to taste
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 cups coconut milk
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/3 cup scallions, sliced for garnish
1 lime, quartered for garnish

1. Season the shallots with salt.  Combine the flour and cornstarch and then add this to the shallots.  Toss the shallots so they become coated with the flour mixture.  Shake off excess flour.

2. Heat a medium sized pot over medium heat.  Add a half inch of oil to the pot.  When the temperature of the oil is 325 degrees, fry the shallots until they are crispy.  Don't let them brown too much to avoid a burnt taste.  Removed them from the pot to a paper towel.  Set aside.

3. Combine the garlic, curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, and cumin.  Heat a large pot of medium heat.  Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pot.  Add the garlic and spices to the pot.  Sear the spices just until fragrant and then add the chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar and coconut milk.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minutes.

4. While curry is simmering, cook noodles according to package directions.  Strain and keep warm.

5. After simmering, taste the curry to see if you want to add a touch more of the fish sauce. 

6. Add the shrimp to the curry.  Let them cook until almost done and then turn the heat to high.  Add 1 tablespoon of lime juice and bring the sauce back to a boil and then turn off the heat.

7. Place the noodles in individual bowls.  Pour curry sauce and shrimp.  Top with fried shallots and fresh green onions.  Serve with lime slices on the side. 

Bon appetit!

With the fried shallots