Pure Hunger

I’ve been planning a weekly menu for our family to help increase the speed of grocery shopping, as is needed when your five month old has the patience of, well, a five month old. The weekly menu has also been a way for me to look forward to cooking in the week without the dread of five o’clock approaching and I begin the “what should I make tonight” frantic search online and through cookbooks only to settle on something I’ve made over and over because it’s fast, easy and great. While taking pictures for these meals I began noticing that curry was sneaking it’s way into every weekly meal. While I could fool myself into thinking that red curry is oh SO different from curry and spinach with eggs, it’s really the same basic foundation with some new decorations again.

Ingredients

2 stalks lemongrass
a few cloves garlic
oil (I used peanut)
1tbsp. curry paste
1 can coconut milk
chicken/vegetable broth (start with a cup, then add more if you want it more soupy)
meat (I used a combo of ground pork and tofu)
Sliced veggies (red bell peppers and tomatoes, but use whatever! asparagus, sweet potatoes, etc.)

So over the last few weeks I have had my share of curries and while they all had their own excitement and spot on my taste buds, this recipe from a good friend wins the award for fast, east, cheap and perfectly warm, cozy and screaming of comfort food. She really provided a solid foundation for curry without all the bells and whistles that can sometimes complicate such a simple dish.

I believe the key to success is not what ingredients you choose but the quality of those ingredients. You have to have a terrific curry powder/paste, fresh vegetables, solid stock and great coconut milk. I used a local curry paste, as featured in the picture with vegetable broth from Pacific Natural Foods and coconut milk from Thai Kitchen.

It makes enough to feed a couple of families or just one really big one. Leftovers are always incredible as the spices, coconut and broth have been able to blend and merge overnight. I serve it with some brown basmati rice and a big loaf of bread. I’m a little obsessed with carbs as well I guess.

Saute the pork and set aside. Dice tofu into squares and saute until golden and also set aside.  I always add about 1/2 tsp of cumin and curry powder to the meat and tofu while cooking.Remove outer stalks of lemongrass, then finely chopped the inner leaves. Saute this for several minutes until soft in some oil. Add the garlic and curry paste and cook until fragrant.

Add the meat back to the pan and pour in the milk - stir to mix evenly. Add veggies and cook a few minutes. Add chicken broth to desired consistency.