The Saga Continues: The Quest for Green Curry

I know this photo may not seem like much, but it was at this table that I ate some of the best meals of my life. And saw a little girl pee her pants whilst sitting on said table. Why do I remember these things? This is the table I sat at and ordered Thai green curry from Lek. Oh it was so good. Sweet, savory, spicy, all in one dish. And now I have been on a two-and-a-half year quest to find green curry as good as Lek's. To no avail. But I've checked out some good Thai restaurants in the meantime. I've already raved about the vegetables present in Lek's curry, and subsequently tried to copy it. The resulting curry was probably the closest I've come, except that it was too spicy too eat, but too tasty not to. Deadly combination, I'm telling you. Every time I go out for Thai I always get green curry. And it's never quite right. Bangkok & Cuisine (19th and Farnam) and Thai Spice (108th and Maple) serve it with bamboo, which I actually like, but it's not Lek's. I never saw bamboo in green curry. That's not to say it doesn't exist, I just never saw it. I should just give up, but I can't. I've tasted perfection, and I want it back. But even though I've been disappointed in my quest for green curry, that doesn't mean you all shouldn't go out and enjoy Thai food. And here's why: everyone in my family likes it (except maybe for Grandma who we're not sure about). I was looked to again to choose a dining venue for dinner on Saturday with Dad, Emily and Grandma. Dad had a hankering for Chinese, but Emily hates Chinese. Thai was an obvious choice because after my birthday dinner, we knew that there was at least one thing on the menu that Emily would like (Phad Thai). Em and I went out to pick Grandma up. We stole her away from a nice filet mignon that actually looked pretty good (a rarity at her place of residence, which serves cafeteria food every single day). So we deprived her of that fat, juicy steak and replaced it with food we're pretty sure she didn't care for. Apparently Grandma doesn't like rice--at all. Who knew? And for her we had to go with the absolutey-not-spicy-in-any-way route. Her choice: Chicken Satay. It's really an appetizer, but Gma's not a big eater. For the dish, the chicken comes skewered on a bamboo stick. It usually has a savory yellow marinade on it. You slather the skewers in this savory and sweat peanut sauce. It also comes with a sweet, pickled cucumber relish. She claimed she liked the meal, but she kept looking around and saying, "Does your mom like this kind of food?" We think she may have been looking for an ally. Emily, as you know, ordered Phad Thai. This is usually a safe dish for someone who approaches Oriental food with trepidation. However, this is not a safe dish for someone with a peanut alergy. Phad Thai is sort of like fried rice, but noodles. It comes with egg. Tofu, chicken or shrimp all complement it really well. For some reason the sauce in the U.S. is orange, another thing I never saw in Thailand where the sauce is brown. But, whatever, it still tastes good. Phad Thai is topped with peanuts, bean sprouts and cilantro, is served with a lime wedge and shouldn't be spicy. The whole dish comes together well with the sweet/savory combo that the Thais seem to have down. Dad ordered beef in black pepper sauce. I think it's safe to say that he loved it, and he'll be going back of his own accord (Mom, be prepared). Reasons why he liked it: 1) beef, it was meaty, thus manly; and 2) spicy, it was hot, thus manly. My dad is the sort who likes medium salsa, so this dish suited him perfectly. His dish was hot, but not so hot he couldn't eat it. I would argue Thai Pepper (on 128th and Q) has perfected the art of medium spicy: it's hot while you're eating it, but your mouth doesn't continue to burn once you're finished. These are the pickiest eaters in the entire Seyler clan, and they have been successfully converted to liking a (somewhat) exotic type of cuisine. Well, maybe not Grandma, but she'll have something to talk about at Walnut Grove, distracting everybody from their health issues for a moment.

You Say Frittata.

Instead of letting my leftovers waste away to mold in the fridge like I normally do, I rehashed them in a frittata. This was according to Craig's recommendation. Dare I say that it was better than the original version as the original batch of green curry was so freaking spicy. Adding eggs and milk tempered the heat to edible.

I have this theory about eggs and omelets: Every European country seems to have their own delicious version. Everybody like eggs. In France its quiche. In Spain its tortilla espanola. In Britain it must be the omelet. And in Italy its the frittata. (OK, I haven't covered all of Europe, just the countries I have been to). I'd have to say that the frittata is the easiest because there is no flipping involved (reducing the chance that I'll be making a mess). You just mix the eggs and a bit of milk with whatever other food you'd like to add (obviously anything goes since I felt so inclined to make it with green curry), cook it on the stovetop until the bottom is done and then transfer it to the broiler to finish it off. And voila. Finito.

Thai Food Is Spicy.

I used to live in Thailand. I loved the food--aside from shockingly horrendous school lunches and a few too-spicy meals. There was a "restaurant" (using the term loosely) on the compound where I lived. The cook's name was Lek, which means small, which she was. Though tiny, she was spunky and spicy. I learned my lesson (ZIP code 46032 on the link) quickly with her food. She and her daughter taught me how to order food that wasn't hot. (It's pet nit-noi, and never forget it). I ate Lek's food just about every night of the week. I had a few staples; green curry was one of them. It's got a bit of a kick to it, but without the chilis, the cocoanut milk adds a savory and creamy element. It's all my favorite spices and herbs mixed together: cumin, coriander, garlic, cilantro, etc. Lek and her daughter Phet also taught me how to order food with proper pronunciation--probably just about the only thing I can pronounce correctly in Thai--ask me, I am an ace at pronouncing green curry with chicken (you'll be more impressed than you should be). Everyone makes green curry a bit differently. It's really hopeless for me to try to immitate Lek's most delicious version. But I had to attempt because Lek would add (when available) butternut squash to the usual mix of vegetables. I have never ever seen green curry with squash. I'm pretty sure I never will. But it is fantastic. Prior to living in Thailand, I had been completely unaware of the versatility of certain vegetables, namely eggplant, mushrooms and squash. I knew if I wanted squash and eggplant in my green curry, I had to make it myself. I followed fairly closely to a recipe by Tyler Florence. However, I could not find any kaffir lime leaves in this fair city. I tried Whole Foods, Hy-Vee, along with Indian, Oriental and a Mediterranean independent grocers. It's likely that Thai Kitchen carries it. I'm not going to include my proportions of vegetables, but I sauteed onions, peppers, those baby corns and eggplant (not on Ty's recipe). I actually used acorn squash, as that seems to be more available at the grocery stores right now. The skin/shell/whatever-you-call-it is pretty thick, and I ended up cutting it in half and roasting it in the oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper beforehand. I only used half the squash (expect to see the rest of the squash in a different dish later this week). I sauteed it with the rest of the vegetables. I did not use Ty's curry paste recipe--I bought some at the store. If I was to do it again, I would definitely make it from scratch because the store-bought paste was spicy. Seriously. Megan and I started out drinking wine and added water and milk to sate the hot-factor. (Not a particularly good combination). My nose was running a little bit even. It really was good, but I hate how spiciness overpowers the rest of the flavors. So now we have some extra green curry that I don't think I can finish.