Winter squash curry, Turmeric fried fish and Jasmine Rice

Red curry with winter squash and meat served with Jasmine rice – แกงเผ็ดฟักทอง
flowers carving from butternut squash and leaves from Acorn squash

Our presentation for this week is about a beautiful winter squash.  We get a few kinds that are  from the  Okanakan Valley.  Solid skin butternut squash, Glossy skin Acorn squash and spaghetti squash. Thai Red curry would be best to  use pumpkin for its texture and yellow colour and also the firm texture of Kabocha squash. Unfortunately although this would be  the most similar to use in Thai cuisine  I could not get one. Our presentation today will be a mixer of half of butternut squash and Acorn squash, peeled for butternut squash and not peel for acorn squash)

Ingredients  (serves 4-5)

1 – 1.5 coconut  Brown hard shell coconut to get estimated 500 ml  coconut cream and 800 ml coconut milk

300 ml water

1,000 grams  Your favorite squash  cut into your style

300 – 400 grams of meat  slices to bite size  (Today I use chicken thigh), For vegetarian Medium – Firm tofu are good match with winter squash

2.5 – 3.5 Tbsp Palm sugar

3 – 4 Tbsp  Fish sauce

Sea salt (option)

1 hand Sweet basil leaves

fresh chili, thin slices  (option)

Preparation

1. Make fresh coconut cream and coconut milk by open coconut with a strong chopping knife. Wash and use a knife to take a white meat careful. There is some notice for a new good coconut will not have a smell and firm and the inside brown shell has a brown colour not dark and mold.  When chew the coconut meat is not rancid. Cut or not cut the brown skin. I decided to peel the hard brown skin by knife because the food professor will not work too hard and the meat is beautiful white.
so when add water to blend to get coconut cream use amount 500 ml and add a second time to blend with 800 ml. will get enough for this red curry.
coconut in carton or box is a second choice if  you don’t have time to do it our self.

2. Preparation the  main ingredients by cut winter squash into your likely style also if you add the meat slices to bite size.

3. Preparation the rest ingredients.. red curry paste, crush palm sugar, torn kaffir limes leaves, fish sauce, sweet basil, slices fresh chilis.

4. Cooking red curry. Heat the cooking pan to medium-high heat, add 1-2 ladle of coconut cream follow-up with red curry paste and stir use a whisk until see bubble, add one ladle at time. The coconut cream is breaking into coconut oil.  Adjust the heat to simmer for less splash.  after coconut cream done, add slices chicken, Let chicken cooked then season with palm sugar, fish sauce and sprinkle of sea salt.  Add all coconut milk and squash, Add more water. Let it boil and reduce heat to simmer take times about 10-15 minutes to cook the squash.

The Final taste is the balance taste, first  salt from fish sauce, sea salt follow up with sweeten from coconut cream, palm sugar.  After the squash is cooked add  kaffir lime leaves, sweet basil and slices fresh chili (if prefer for spiciness).

Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with a sprig of sweet basil and thin slice chili,  serve the squash red curry  with Jasmine rice.

Turmeric Fried fish

Southern Thai Style, Fish fried with Turmeric – ปลาทอดขมิ้น

To make the curry have a good accompany, simple fry fish is long time good match, such as sun – dry fish and deep fry until golden brown, will make the meal with Gaeng Kati (curry made from coconut cream and milk) more appetite.

Today I made Fried sea bass with turmeric,  A cook from Southern Thailand will always use fresh turmeric root, peel and pound in mortar with other ingredients.

Ingredients (Make 1 plate)

250 grams  Fresh white Fish fillet prefer from ocean, today I use fresh fillet of sea bass

1 -2 Garlic, peeled and coarsely chop or pound in mortar

1 Tbsp (estimated) Turmeric powder

sea salt

black pepper

cooking oil

Preparation

1. Slices fish into your prefer size. Combine the fish with turmeric powder, garlic,  sprinkle of sea salt, black pepper and one tbsp of cooking oil for 15 minutes, marinate to half an hour.

2. To deep fry, use a medium – high heat and fry until fish and garlic golden brown but not burn or the garlic will get bitter. Transfer cooked fish on to paper towel.

3. Prepare a serving plate, add some slices cucumber and a sprig of coriander and prik nam pla (thin slices Thai chili in fish sauce)

Hope you enjoy this good match of Curry and fried fish with rice and prik nam pla.

Plumeria from potato carving – พลูมมีเรีย, ลีลาวดี

2 Comments

  1. My mom used to make this fish this way and made a spicy red coconut curry to go with it. Thanks for bringing some wonderful memories, aromas and tastes from shelved memory banks!

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