Food

I love a new-ish restaurant here in the Flathead Valley called Stillwater Fish House.  Delicious food.  The first time I went, I got their Thai Curry Seafood which easily ranks among the top 5 meals of my life.  Yes, my LIFE.  I was craving it one day so I decided to Google how to make it at home.  I was stunned that recipes are actually out there.  I have not previously been an Asian foodie but I am liking it more.  Here is my in house creation of Thai Curry Seafood.  (BTW, I am NOT advertising for or promoting or getting any kind of kickbacks from Stillwater Fish House or Thai Kitchen brand of stuff shown below.  I just wanted to give you an idea of what I buy and what it looks like.  Makes shopping for ingredients easier.)

Thai Seafood Curry

Ingredients:

1 cup finely chopped onion (I like yellow but you can use whatever you prefer.)

vegetable oil to sauté onion

1 ½ tablespoons peeled, minced fresh ginger (I just use a couple shakes of dry ginger, frankly)

1 can unsweetened coconut milk (you can use lite but I like the regular, more fatty version for taste)

2 tablespoons red curry paste (This is essential.  I get it at Wal-mart by the Asian sauces. Cheap.)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon fish sauce (I also get this at Wal-mart in the Asian sauce section.)

1 tablespoon lime juice

¼ cup fresh Thai basil (optional)

1 tablespoon mirin (also with the Asian sauces and also optional)

Red chili flakes (if you like it spicy; these are optional too)

½ pound small cocktail shrimp (from the cold seafood case)

1 cup uncooked jasmine rice

*If this seems too fancy, complicated or you don’t want to bother with the unusual ingredients, just get the coconut milk and red curry paste (assuming you already have onion, brown sugar, and dry ginger) and leave out all the other sauce items from the fish sauce down.  Jasmine rice is a must, though.

We always double this but you probably aren’t feeding an army so the original amount will suffice.  Unless you like leftovers.  I sure do.  So then go ahead and double it. 

Directions:

Start your jasmine rice cooking according to package directions.  Sauté onion in the oil over medium heat in a medium pan. Add coconut milk and bring back to a simmer. Stir in curry paste and sugar until well blended; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes.  If adding, stir in fish sauce, lime juice, basil, mirin, and some red chili flakes (only if you want a little kick).  Stir in shrimp (or cooked chicken chunks) and go back to a simmer, JUST until heated through.  Serve it spooned over the rice.  It should be very saucy.  Eat it with a side of veggies too.  So, so, so good.  Thank you, Thailand, for having such awesome food.

Tips:

The coconut milk called for is not the recently popular beverage can with the pop top.  This stuff is thick for cooking, not drinkable. 

Good luck finding fresh Thai basil.  Regular basil is NOT the same flavor.  After extensive Googling for a suitable substitute, I now opt for a sprinkle of regular dried basil, a sprinkle of dried mint (some people say that Thai basil has hints of mint), and a tiny splash of pure star anise extract (some people say that Thai basil has hints of licorice).  Since I can’t find Thai basil around here, I have no way to verify the flavor accuracy.  This may seem like it’s too complicated but I really wanted to recreate the taste of the exceptional restaurant version of this. 

Mirin is this weird but delectable fermented Asian “sauce” although it is clear in the bottle.  It was listed among the restaurant version’s ingredients so I decided to add it.  The restaurant also listed lemon grass but I have never tried that. 

If you don’t like shrimp, you can use sautéed chunks of chicken in place of the shrimp.  Some of my family like this alternative.  NONE of my family likes the shrimp.

We serve this with a side of Asian salad (cabbage or broccoli slaw with a rice vinegar-based dressing) or steamed veggies (like broccoli, snap peas, and peppers)