Bun Rieu Cua

Bun rieu cua is a Vietnamese soup noodle dish that has a tomato and tamarind flavored broth with meatballs made from ground pork, crab meat and shrimp meat. We’ve been cooking a lot of soups this cold winter and asian noodle soups especially. We used the recipe from Ravenous Couple. Here’s a shot of the prep and the final product. The only comments are we’ll need more pork and fresh crab would have been great too… :)

Day 26: Bun Rieu Cua

DJ Food – All Covered In Darkness (Parts 1 & 2)
[audio:http://www.musiclikedirt.com/wp-content/MP3/2009/AllCoveredInDarknessParts12.mp3]

Traditional Green Curry

maesri_curry_pasteWhile spending my time down at the court house this week for jury duty, I had the opportunity to check out some of Chinatown I don’t normally venture too. I found a great south Asian market and picked up some Thai curry paste, Japanese eggplant and buna shimeji mushrooms to make some “authentic” green curry (80% authentic as I’m making it from a canned Thai paste and of course I’ve never physically been to Thailand).

Green curry is one of my favorite Thai dishes, however, I’ve never made the dish at home, primarily because I’ve never had access to kaffir lime leaves, thai basil, and other authentic ingredients. Of course, using the paste cuts all the work.

I’m usually the one to ask for Thai spicy in any restaurant, and more often they will provide me with a complimentary glass of milk, or blow off my request from the get go and give me a very mild version of spicy food. It’s unfortunate but I am always asking for more chili in any Thai restaurant I go. This dish, however, was the hottest I’ve every had and was one of the best as well.

Buna Shimeji Mushrooms

Japanese Eggplant

cooking_2009_006

Heat some jasmine rice and pour over the top, serve. I had curry for the next 4 days after this and it was one of the best lunches I’ve had all week. I plan on making this again and perfecting the dish with the next attempt. Here’s the recipe I used:

• 1 lb chicken (pork loin, beef, duck or tofu can be used too)
• Entire can of Maesri green curry paste (4 ounces)
• 2 1/2 cups coconut milk
• 2-5 small fresh Thai / Japanese eggplants, cubed
• 2-3 fresh Thai bird chilies, sliced diagonally (depending on heat – you may opt to have none)
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade
• 1/4 cup thai basil leaf, chiffonade
• 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp palm sugar
• 1 tbsp cooking oil (corn, safflower, vegetable or peanut oil works best)
• Sweet Thai basil leaves and red chili slices for garnish

Preparation

1. Slice the meat into thin pieces, about about 1/3″ (3 cm) thick and add 1 ounce (1/4 can) of curry paste to meat to marinade for at least 15 minutes, preferably over night.
2. In a large saute pan, add oil and saute the green curry paste over medium heat until fragrant, reduce the heat, and then add the meat.
3. Add the eggplant and saute until a light crust develops.
4. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups of the coconut milk a little at a time, stir until a film of green oil surfaces.
5. Add the kaffir lime leaves, continue cooking for 3 minutes until fragrant and the meat is cooked through. Add the remaining coconut milk, season with palm sugar and fish sauce.
6. When the eggplant is cooked enough for your taste, sprinkle thai basil leaves and red chilies over, then turn off the heat.
7. Add jasmine rice to dish, arrange curry on or around serving dish and garnish with Thai basil leaves and red chilies before serving.

Enjoy…

Minetta Tavern no longer available to pedestrians

It’s a sad day in any food and bar epicenter when a classic location is purchased from the original owners, refurbished and then reborn as a haute celebrity joint where the exclusivity garners more attention than the actual purpose of the location; in this case the focus is on the food. Minetta Tavern was once ranked (by Esquire magazine) as a top bar of America but after glorious reviews from the Times and NY Mag, it seems the location is back to tops in NY and now according to Eatery, it’s closed to pedestrians. Apparently here’s as close as you will get: