Virginia Water

Warming food

It has been embarrassingly long since I have posted anything here. I did eat in the meantime (surprise there!) and have tried a lot of new recipes. It's just that darkness is not too inspiring and I can't really carry the food to work to catch some sunshine for photos. Setting up lights is hard work (however much Charlie claims differently).

Winter is a lazy time and the coldness in the last few days requires food that warms you all over. Well, here is a curry that most certainly warms me all over. I generally choose curry when looking for simple, warming comfort food. China Town in London is a weird and wonderful place. I bet you it has more products you have never heard of than you have had warm meals in your life. I buy the curry pastes they sell there at random. The standard "green", "red" and "yellow" I am bored of, but why not try panang curry for a change? It is still a Thai curry but sweeter and creamier than the red and green varieties. Perfect when it's freezing outside.

Panang vegetable curry

You will need:
1 onion (chopped)
1 potato
3 carrots (sliced)
1 red pepper (chopped into long pieces)
some bok choy

2 tablespoons of Panang curry paste
1 tin of coconut milk
splash of fish sauce
1/4 lime

some vegetable oil, salt and pepper
(and rice to serve).

Parboil the potato and once it is ready cut it into small cubes. In the meantime fry the onion in a large wok. Add the red pepper and bok-choy (chopped into strings) and stir occasionally, so that it does not burn. Then add the carrots and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the curry paste and stir it in well. Then add the coconut milk and the potatoes and allow the mixture to simmer until the carrots are semi-soft (it should take about 10 minutes, depending on how thick the slices are). I don't like my carrots to be too soft, but it is up to you. When the vegetables are ready add a splash of fish sauce and the lime juice. Stir in well and serve immediately with some rice.

If you find that the dish is not flavoursome enough add some more curry paste - they vary a lot, so sometimes the suggested amount may be too little. Or, too much in which case make sure you serve the curry with some yoghurt on the side.

Voila!