Thai Red Curry with Winter Squash

I had an amazing pumpkin curry at a Thai restaurant in Seattle a few months ago and have been wanting to recreate it at home. A cooking date with a few friends from school was the perfect excuse to find a recipe. And the recipe I found is AWESOME.

Jenna, of Eat, Live, Run, wrote about the recipe, "Seriously, I wanted to drink this sauce with a straw. It’s definitely the closet to “authentic” Thai curry I’ve ever gotten at home. You must make this!!!" I knew I had to give it a try. It was not hard to pull together, although it did require some ingredients that I didn't have on hand and had to get at the local Asian supermarket. You can find her original recipe here.

Thai Red Curry with Winter Squash

serves 4

Time: 1.25 hours (includes time to roast the squash)

Ingredients:

1 large kabocha, butternut, or other orange-fleshed squash

1 large handful green beans, cut in half OR 1 small zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces

1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced

2 kaffir lime leaves, torn

6 Thai basil leaves, chopped

1 tbsp canola oil

3 tbsp red thai curry paste (make sure you get one that says, "red thai curry paste", not just a thai curry paste that appears to be red-colored)

1 (15-oz) can coconut milk

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

2 red thai chilies, pierced several times with a knife

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle olive oil on a foil lined sheet tray. Slice squash in half, remove seeds (you can roast them later!), and place cut-side down on the sheet tray. Roast squash halves for about 30 minutes until tender. Remove and let cool completely.

2. In a large pot or deep pan, heat the canola oil over medium high heat. Add the curry paste and mash into hot oil so all the paste gets incorporated. Slowly drizzle in the coconut milk, whisking continuously until all milk has been added and no curry “clumps” remain.

3. Add water, torn kaffir lime leaves, thai basil, fish sauce, brown sugar and chilies and bring to a simmer. Add bell peppers and green beans or zucchini and continue simmering sauce for about 15 minutes until vegetables are just cooked but not mushy.

Peel or slice kabocha squash away from peel. Chop into large chunks and add to the curry sauce.

Serve curry over jasmine rice (don’t eat the chilies!).

Thai Red Curry Vegetables

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 3-4 mains servings

2 T peanut, olive, or canola oil
1 stalk lemongrass (if frozen nuke for 45 sec)
1" x 1" x 1/2" of ginger (don't use galangal)
1.5 T Thai red curry paste
1/2 c white wine
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
2 T fish sauce (nam pla)
1 lime
4 T chopped fresh cilantro (stems & leaves)
4 T chopped Thai basil or Italian basil leaves
1/2 c fresh or frozen peas
3 c of diced vegetables (any combination of potatoes, cauliflower, raw cabbage,
onion, celery, carrots)
Meat, if desired

Vegetables can either be sauteed (potatoes & cauliflower won't saute well) or boiled
ahead of time (and set aside) or cooked in the curry as the curry is being made.
In any case, remember to add faster cooking vegetables later so they all get
cooked to the same degree (firm but easy to bite).

Cut top off lemongrass, remove outer leaf, mince bottom 1/3 & cut rest in >4" strips
Mince ginger

Heat oil in a Dutch oven until shimmering.
If using meat, fry the meat with curry paste (make sure the paste contains oil or
add some) and coconut cream to tenderize it.
Add minced lemongrass, minced ginger, curry paste and stir until consistent mixture

Add strips of lemongrass, wine, coconut milk, fish sauce, and lime juice and mix
Bring to a simmer, whisking ocassionally

Let curry simmer at least 5 min. (anything longer is fine)
If curry becomes too dry, add water, not coconut milk, as the coconut milk will make
it too thick.

A few min. before serving, discard lemongrass strips (leave a few for authenticity)
Add cilantro and basil and mix
Add veggie mixture and peas and mix
Bring to simmer

Serve over rice