Vegetarian Green Curry

This recipe came from Elisa's cookbook, so when she posts her recipe, I'll repost with the credits of creation! And thanks again to Elisa for supplying the green curry paste. You're incredible, girl. Oh, but just for the record - I saw green curry paste at the Asian market, so you don't have to make it from scratch :)

Vegetarian Green Curry

5 oz. (150g) firm tofu, drained then cut into ¾ inch cubes

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups coconut milk

1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil (optional)

¼ cup green curry paste

½ cup chopped eggplant

½ cup pea eggplants (optional)

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh or canned bamboo shoots, rinsed and drained

6 ears fresh or canned baby corn, rinsed and drained, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tablespoons palm sugar

2 kaffir lime leaves, stemmed

1 cup loosely packed fresh sweet Thai basil leaves

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 fresh long green chili, cut into large pieces

1 fresh long red chili, cut into large pieces

Pat tofu dry with a paper towel. Heat oil in a large frying pan and working in batches, fry tofu cubes until golden. Remove using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; set aside. Let coconut milk stand, allowing the thick coconut milk to rise to the top. Spoon thick coconut milk into a small bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons for garnish.

In a wok or large, heavy frying pan, heat thick coconut milk over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it separates. If it does not separate, add optional oil. Add green curry paste and fry, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add vegetables and fried tofu and stir until well coated. Add remaining thin coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are slightly soft, about 4 minutes.

Add palm sugar – if using a wok, add it along the edge of the wok so that it melts before stirring into curry; if using a standard frying pan, add directly to the curry. Tear kaffir lime leaves and basil into pieces. Stir in soy sauce, kaffir lime leaves, and half the basil.

Remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle over reserved 2 tablespoons thick coconut milk. Garnish with green and red chilies, and remaining basil leaves and serve.

Pineapple Fried Rice

As usual I had so much fun with you all! The food was amazing, I loved it all! Here is my recipe I found online.

You may have noticed my recipe made more than 4 servings, it was because I used 4 cups of uncooked rice, when cooked and and used all of it....way too much rice! But you will did a great job of eating it, we only had a few leftovers!

First the ingredients:

1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup peanut oil
1 lb. black tiger shrimp(peeled and deveined) ( just used normal shrimp-whatever was on sale)
1/3 cup diced carrot
1/3 cup diced onion ( I used a yellow onion)
1 egg (beaten) ( I used 2 eggs because I had so much rice)
4 cups cooked jasmine rice ( you noticed I had a lot more than that!)
1 tablespoon butter (I used 2 T)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/3 cup sweet peas
1/3 cup raisin
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 fresh pineapple (cut in half,remove fruit, cut into chunks) ( FYI I read online how to make a pineapple boat)
1/3 cup roasted cashews ( didn't use because Scottie is allergic)

Directions:

1. In a wok at medium-high heat, add the garlic and oil and stir until golden brown. Add the shrimp and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Follow with carrot and onion, stirring for 2 minutes
2. Add the beaten egg and stir constantly for 30 seconds. Add rice, butter, salt, sugar, white pepper, sweet pea, raisin, soy sauce and fresh pineapple and stir until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, approximately 3 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, place in hollowed-out pineapple halves and top with cashews before serving.
Yield: 4 servings

Recipe taken from "Crying Tiger: Thai Recipes from the Heart" by Supatra Johnson.

Thai BBQ Pork

Here is the recipe I made for our Thai dinner. It was given to me by a good friend from High School who is Thai.

Thai BBQ Chicken or Pork
By Bea Robinson

Ingredients

6-8 Chicken breasts or pork chops (the thinner the better)
1/2 - 3/4 heads of garlic (I like lots of garlic.)1 bunch Cilantro (only use the stems, just trim off 1/4" at the roots and then use the rest of the remaining stems; chop them small before putting it in the food processor)
1 Tbps. olive oil
½ t. Sugar
4 t. Soy sauce
¼ t. Salt
2 t. Black pepper
7 Tbps. Oyster sauce

1. Put garlic, cilantro, and olive oil in food processor. Blend it to paste (approx. 2 mins.)2. Put paste into a big bowl and add a few cilantro leaves (chop finely) 3. Add the rest of the ingredients into the paste 4. Add meat and let it marinade OVERNIGHT! (crazy I know but it's better overnight.) Make sure to rub the marinade into the meat.5. Brush vegetable oil on the grill. This prevents th meat from sticking to the grill. Grill meat until done. You can even save the marinade and keep basting until done. 6. Slice meat approx. ½ inch wide or leave it whole.