DLE Video Podcast 003: Roasted Duck with Red Curry

Roasted Duck with Red Curry is one of my super easy secret recipes (although it won’t be any more after this post). I usually cook this for people if they request Thai food. Why? Because it is very easy, delicious and quick so I can spend time cooking other more complicated dish and my guests. It may sound like it would take the whole day to cook but the truth is it only takes about 30-40 mins from start to finish. Don’t blink because by the time you look back the dish may be done already This recipe is definitely different from others but I found it to be the easiest.

Enjoy!

Direct Download Link

Roasted Duck with Red Curry

Ingredients
1 whole roasted duck (Deboned)
2 1/2 tbsp. Red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups of pineapple chunks
1 can of Lychees (or Rambutan)
1 cup of sliced red pepper
1 cup of sliced green pepper
1 tbsp tamarind
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 1/2 cup of Thai basil
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup cherry tomatoes
4-5 Kaffir lime leaves (Not in video because I forgot)

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pot until the oil starts to smoke. Lower the heat to medium and add in the red curry paste and minced garlic. Basically we are trying to release the aroma of the curry and cook the garlic a bit. Add the coconut milk and tamarind, stir, and bring it to a boil.

Add the fish sauce, sugar, pineapples, and lychees, stir and let it boil on medium high heat for 3 minutes. Add the red and green pepper slices, tomatoes and stir again. Next add the roasted duck. At this point, you are almost done. See how easy that was?

Just before you serve, add the Thai basil and thinly sliced Kaffir lime leaves and then, you are done!

Dandelion curry

The alarmingly fresh asparagus I had yesterday got me wanting more Spring-type meals, so for dinner, I’m making dandelion curry, which IS Spring. (Plus curry.)

Also, I’m making it in my rice cooker, without rice.  Take that, Peter Peter, pasta eater.

The recipe is:
1 bunch of highly washed dandelion leaves, the thick stems having been removed
1/2 onion
some chopped leeks
garlic
turmeric
pineapple pieces, I used fresh, but whatever
can of coconut milk
thinned down peanut butter
mustard seed
cumin

Throw everything in the rice cooker, type up your recipe, and come back when you hear the click.  Done, son.

Eating my way through Boston

This past weekend I was lucky enough to visit with one of my co-hosts… Chuti!

An extremely gracious host, he took me all around Boston to some of his favorite places, and he even cooked a Thai meal for me. I can say this about Chuti… he is spot on in his reviews of the places in Boston and he is an amazing cook.

We started off at a place called Mary Chung’s where we had some Chinese food, it was pretty good but I especially enjoyed the sweet corn with minced chicken soup. The next morning we visited a diner in the South End for breakfast called Mike’s City Diner.

Wow, not only was the food amazing, but the waitress was a so sweet and the atmosphere was perfect. Expect a review from one of us very soon.

We also had a neat visit to H-Mart, a giant Korean Market where we filmed our first video podcast. Be sure to check it out!! For dinner on Friday, we ate late and we went to a place that I had eaten at before but was eager to return to… Shabu Zen, a Japanese Hot Pot or Shabu-Shabu restaurant. It was exactly what we needed, a lovely warm meal on a very cold Boston evening.

Saturday was definitely the highlight of my weekend in Boston. We skipped breakfast and headed to the Super 88 Mart (another asian market) to do some shopping for the dinner Chuti was planning on cooking. While there we ate a food stall called Pho Viet. I had Grilled Lemon Grass Chicken over Vermicelli, so good. So much flavor!!

After shopping we went back to Chuti’s place where he proceeded to prep and cook a simply amazing meal of Thai dishes. Red Curry Duck, Chicken Basil, Tom Yum Koong Soup and fresh rolled Spring Rolls. Everything he made was simply divine. Each dish was delicious and I think if I had to pick a favorite, I’d say it was the Red Curry Duck. I had not really had duck before, but after this dish, I can not wait to have it again. Each dish was so colorful, beautiful and full of flavor.

Perhaps even more enjoyable than eating the meal was watching and helping Chuti cook. A true professional, I’m seriously surprised he’s not a chef. His knife skills were impressive, and every plate of prepped food looked so beautiful that you wanted to take photos of it. On top that he seemed so laid back, relaxed and in control. I only hope that at some point I can be half as competent and happy in the kitchen as he.

If Saturday was the highlight, Sunday was the gravy. My flight home on Sunday was cancelled, which not only afforded me some more time to hang out with Chuti, it also gave us the opportunity to head to the North End for dinner. We spent Sunday recording the DLE podcast together, which was so much fun. To be in the same room with one of my fellow co hosts really enhanced the experience. I hope some day all four of us can be in the same room during a show. Prior to the show, we headed off to one of his favorite places for breakfast called Sofra Bakery and Cafe. A Middle Eastern bakery, we had some amazing pastry and a dish called shakshuka, an egg poached in tomato curry… so good! I’m sure he’ll be writing a review but I wanted to show a picture of the “morning bun with orange blossom glaze”. Kind of like “Monkey Bread” but with a lovely orange glaze. So good.

As tasty as brekfast was, dinner was so worth missing my flight. Chuti took me to Giacomo‘s, which after reading his review, I was very much looking forward to visiting. He was spot on about the place. The food was fantastic. Perhaps the best Italian food I’ve had. I ordered the Chicken Parmesan and it was just perfect. The thing that I think surprised me the most about Giacomo’s was how small it was inside. He mentioned how people would stand and wait to get it but I had no idea how small it was, there were perhaps only six tables. It felt like eating in your grandmother’s kitchen. Simply amazing.

We capped off our weekend at Modern Pastry, another place that Chuti wrote about that I was dying to try. Once again he was completely right about the place. I was blown away by the cannoli. The shell was so crisp, the filling so delicious. At his suggestion, we also had the tiramisu, which I don’t particularly care for, however, Modern Pastry completely changed my mind! I’ve never had tiramisu that tasted that good. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the evening.

All in all, my weekend in Boston was one of the best weekends I’ve ever spent hanging out with friends. Low pressure, new experiences, good food and great company… what more could you ask for? 5 Pans!

Green Curry Paste

Ingredients

• 2 stalk lemongrass
• 1-3 green Thai chilies
• 1 shallot
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 piece of galangal (1 1/2 inch)
• 1 piece of ginger (1 1/2 inch)
• 1 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. whole white pepper
• 1 tsp. coriander
• 4 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp cilantro roots
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 3-4 tbsp. water to helps blend ingredients together

Directions
This one is gonna be easy, put everything in a food processor and blend until you have a paste. If you are doing it the old fashioned way with a mortar and pestle, start with salt and garlic then start adding the other ingredients. You will need to slice some of the more solid ingredients into smaller pieces to make it easier to break down.

Alternative options

I know not everyone has time to make curry from scratch, so I am giving you some alternatives here. There is a website called “siamspices.com” that offers lots off fresh made curry you can buy. Check them out.

Also, you should be able to find a can or tub or green curry in your local Asian market. The brand that I like is “Mae Ploy”. The package should look something like this.

I will follow this Green Curry Paste recipe with my own favorite Green Curry Chicken recipe soon.

Thai Curry Pumpkin Soup

Another pumpkin dish for the Fall season. You can totally substitute squash in place of pumpkin if you prefer. This soup has some kick to it since the recipe calls for thai curry. If you want to make it even more fancy, you could add a few grilled shrimp to each bowl.

INGREDIENTS
8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly grounded black pepper
1 medium pumpkin
1 large onion chopped
2 Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored, and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste (Mae Ploy Brand)
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tsp of chopped chives

Directions
First prepare the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin in half lengthwise, remove al the seeds and bake on a sheet pan at 375F for 40-45 minutes. Scoop all of the pumpkin out of the skin to make about 5-6 cups.

After your pumpkin is ready, heat up the butter in a pot until it starts foaming, then add in the garlic and onion and cook until translucent. Add the curry and stir for about two (2) minutes to release the curry aroma. Next add in the diced apple and cook until the apples become soft, then add in the stock, pumpkin, salt and pepper and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and then simmer for forty (40) minutes uncovered. Let it cool down a bit then puree the soup using a food processor or blender. A few cups at a time to avoid any overflowing. When you’re done, return the puree to the pot and bring the soup to a boil again and add in the heavy cream. If the soup is too think add more stock.

Serve in soup bowls and garnish with sour cream and chives.

Enjoy!!!