Have been cooking up a storm

I have been cooking quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, since the completion of my kitchen. But I have been slack with photos. I baked some Chocolate profiteroles (out of the packet) while the kitchen was being done, I have a post on my other blog.

I have this favourite meal from the local Thai restaurant. It's a Yellow Chicken Curry and it's delicious and different from any other curry I have ever had. It's quite sweet and the sweet potatoes in it, add a really yummy wholesomeness to it.

I made the curry paste with a mortar and pestle and cooked the curry in the crock pot. I always brown the chicken and the onions first. To me that is the secret of the crock pot. My brand new crock pot was destined for Ebay until I worked this one out. I can't stand food that has been stewed without that caramelisation happening first. Whatever I make in the crock pot, even soup, I always make sure the meat or the onions are browned off first. I always deglaze the pan too, so that all that brown flavour isn't wasted.

I took a base recipe I found on the internet and then changed it as the flavour wasn't what I was trying to emulate.

Thai Yellow Curry Paste

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 yellow chillies, depending on desired spice level (if unavailable, substitue 1-2 red or green chillies- I desseded these as my kids were eating the dish too, for us I would leave them in)
• 1 brown onion
  
• 1 generous slice ginger
  
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. ground coriander (grind seeds yourself with a coffee grinder or pestle & mortar)
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
  
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinammon
  
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons tumeric
  
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice (or the juice from 1/2 a lime)
• Tin Coconut Cream

I would cook the above in the crock pot, without the cocounut cream. There is enough water from the deglazing of the pan. I added about 1kg of sweet potato. Add the coconut cream just to heat it through at the end. Cook in the crock pot for about 3-4 hour is enough. I cooked mine for 61/2 hours and although it was delicious, the chicken was falling apart, I like it when the chicken is still in large hunks.

Delicious.