INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Yesterday was my wife's day off (it's a public holiday in Thailand - the
end of Thai Lent). We were sitting watching TV, and as a 5 minute filler
rhe local cable station transmitted a recipe for "spicy chicken",
demonstrated by a chef from one of Bangkok's restaurants (this series isn't
usually of interest to us as the dishes are usually pastiches of european
food). This time it was a Thai dish.
It was amusing to watch the demonstration and listen to the commentary -
the chef put a large scoop of curry sauce in the wok (probably half a cup),
and the commentator said "put a tablespoon of curry paste..." similarly the
chef added a splash of nam sup, splash of coconut milk - perhaps 2-3
tablespoons of each, and a good shake of the fish sauce bottle and the
commentator said "add a quarter of a cup..."
There is no doubt that if you followed the commentary and the listed
ingredients you'd get a rather wet, bland result.
My wife watched in fascination - she knew the chef as they'd trained
together, and after the show she rummaged through our files and found her
college notes and found the same recipe... This curry is cooked partially
in the wok, and then, in Thailand, completed by packing it in a bamboo
stem, plugging the ends with bamboo leaves or sticky rice, and roasting it
over a charcoal brazier. This allows the residual water to be driven off to
yield a dry result. As lengths of bamboo stem aren't that easy to acquire
in the west the method below is equivalent.
METHOD: warm a little cooking oil in a medium hot wok, and gently fry the
curry paste until aromatic.
Add the chicken and stir fry until it just starts to chage colour, then add
the remaining ingredients (except the leaves), and stir, continuing until
the liquid is mostly evaporated.
Transfer to an oven proof dish, and add the shredded leaves, mixing
thoroughly then cover with aluminum foil, and pierce a few times to allow
steam to evaporate.
Transfer to a medium oven and bake for about 15 minutes (until the liquid
is evaporated).
Serve with steamed long grain (jasmine) rice, and the usual table
condiments.
Posted to CHILE-HEADS DIGEST V3 #141
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 1996 10:21:29 -0700
From: "Colonel I.F.K. Philpott" <colonel@korat1.vu-korat.ac.th>

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