Thai Green Curry with Salmon and Vegetables

I admit: I totally just ate half a box of Annie’s Homegrown Mac & Cheese. Some days are like that. Prior to my mac-in-the-box, I had some delicious Bison Organic Chocolate Stout beer. This may have influenced my decision for such a dinner. I did embellish it a little, with grated Tillamook cheddar, some ground mustard, brewer’s yeast, fresh ground pepper, onion powder, and then a panko-parmesan crumb top. It was peculiarly tasty. :)

Back to this particular post, though… The following recipe is what I cooked up for the mister and I last night. We had a really good green curry in Jantzen Beach the other week, at a tiny hole-in-the-wall place called Top Thai Kitchen. I decided then that I’d attempt making some kind of curry at home. I’d only done it once before and even then I cheated and used a store-bought curry simmer sauce. Which, by the way, was bland and blah-tasting! Fresh ingredients make everything a million times better (and fun to eat!).

The following recipe took a little bit of time, but was quite worth it. You can use different vegetables to your preference and substitute tofu or chicken, or simply more vegetables if you want. This makes enough for one large curry (we each had a good sized bowl and there was still some left over).

For the Curry Paste:

Ingredients:

2 stalks lemongrass, minced
2–3 green chilies, sliced (thai chilies or jalapeños) use less chilies, without the seeds, for milder flavor
1 shallot, sliced
5–6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1- 3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
½ cup fresh cilantro (including stems), chopped
¾ cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
¾ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. ground pepper
½ tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice
¼ cup coconut milk (reserve the rest of the 14-oz. can for the curry)

Directions:

In a food processor fitted with the large chopping blade, or high-powered blender, blend all of the above ingredients until a smooth paste forms (5-or so minutes). Makes about 1 cup of green curry paste. **Note: In the third photo above, the “paste” is not done. It was blended for an additional 4 minutes after this was taken.

For the Green Curry with Salmon and Vegetables

Ingredients:

All of the green curry paste from previous recipe
1 tbsp. olive oil
remaining coconut milk from 14-oz. can
¾ cup vegetable stock
1 small red bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup carrot, peeled and cut into thin rounds
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 fresh salmon fillet (approx. 1 lb.), skinned, de-boned, and cut in half

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium-high, heat the oil. Add in all of the curry paste you just made. Swirl over the heat for about one minute, to draw out the fragrances of the fresh herbs.

Stir in the vegetable stock. Once well incorporated, add in the carrots, bell pepper, and salmon fillets. Gently simmer for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk and broccoli florets. Taste the sauce and add more salt, pepper, or coconut milk if necessary, to your liking. Cover and let simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the salmon is tender but cooked all the way through. Uncover and simmer for about 5 more minutes before serving.

Serve over freshly steamed basmati rice.

Enjoy!