No matter how hard I tried, I could never recreate the vivid, vivacious flavors of Thai curries at home. It wasn’t until I was invited to a cooking class at the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles that I learned two of the secrets: “cracking” the coconut cream that accumulates at the top of the can of full-fat coconut milk (cooking out all the moisture so that the oil separates from the solids); and “blooming” the curry paste in the cracked coconut cream so that all those sleepy flavors of chiles and floral aromatics come back to life. With just these two techniques, my curries have gone from ho-hum to high-octane!
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 30 min |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/2 small kabocha squash, peel left on, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil
- 2 pounds cremini mushrooms, sliced
- One 13.5-ounce can full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated for an hour, not shaken
- One 4-ounce can Thai red curry paste, preferably Maesri, or 5 tablespoons jarred red curry paste
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (I use a rasp)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth or water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 to 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 6 ounces green beans, sliced on the diagonal into 1-inch lengths
- Zest of 1 lime plus 1 lime wedge
- Handful fresh Thai basil
- Cooked white rice, for serving
Instructions
- Add 1 cup water to an electric pressure cooker and add the rack. Put the kabocha squash on the rack and follow the manufacturer’s guide for locking the lid. Set to pressure cook on high for 3 minutes. Follow the guide again for releasing pressure, then carefully remove the lid. Remove the squash from the pressure cooker and set aside until ready to use.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and saute until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the skillet and set aside until ready to use.
- Set the same large skillet over medium-low heat. Carefully scoop the coconut cream (the thick, almost solid white stuff) out of the can of coconut milk into the skillet. Set aside the remaining liquid in the can. Cook the coconut cream until it resembles yogurt and is sizzling around the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the curry paste, ginger and garlic. Turn the heat up to medium. Saute until the paste has deepened in color and the oil starts to separate from the paste, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken broth, sugar, remaining canned coconut liquid and 1 teaspoon fish sauce. Taste; add more fish sauce if it’s not salty enough. Stir well and bring to a boil. Add the squash, mushrooms and green beans. Stir well and turn the heat to low. Simmer until the green beans are cooked through, about 15 minutes.
- Finish with the lime zest, a squeeze of the lime wedge and the basil. Serve over rice.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 307 |
| Total Fat | 20 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Carbohydrates | 30 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 7 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 3 mg |
| Sodium | 291 mg |
Reviews
15 reviews. Only 5 worth posting. If you cannot bother to explain why you have scored your stars please stop. Totally useless.
Loved this. Definitely on the spicy side. I added shrimp and scallops and decreased amount of veggies. The original recipe is vegetarian…not vegan as one review commented. Just substitute chicken broth for vegetable broth or water as recipe calls for and fish sauce for salt for a vegan version.
So good. The kabocha squash goes really well with this sauce.
Really flavorful!!!
This was part of a vegetarian cooking challenge yet the recipe contains both chicken broth and fish sauce, neither of which is vegetarian. I’m accustomed to having to substitute ingredients in omnivorous recipes but it’s disheartening when, even in a show that’s promoting meatless eating, meat-derived products are used in the preparation. ♀️
Amazing flavor. Recommend quick release on squash.