Saturday, May 7, 2011

Thai Green Curry



I love thai food, especially coconut curries.  Thai curry is a good simple dish found at every thai restaurant.  Because of this, I believe how well a restaurant's curry is made reflects the quality of their other dishes.  My favorite is green curry, named obviously from its green color.  The rich color comes from green chillies and herbs.  This dish is usually made very spicy and prepared with meats and vegetables.  Luckily, for those with weak stomachs - like me, you can make this dish mild at home.

The basis of green curry comes from a curry paste.  Many stores sell ready made pastes, so all you need is to add coconut milk.  The pastes, however, come VERY spicy and contain wheat, along with msg.  When you make the paste yourself, you use fresh herbs and know what's going in.  The end product is refreshing.  The flavors are subtle and not overpowered by spiciness and msg.  You appreciate your senses more and can taste how the herbs play upon each other.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Korean Tofu Soup (soondubu jjigae)



One thing I miss the most with being gluten free is Asian food. Since being diagnosed with celiac’s, I’ve been scared to eat at any type of Asian restaurant. There is soy sauce in EVERYTHING and hidden wheat in many of the sauces. The worst part is I know how deliciously good the food used to taste.

My favorite Korean dish is tofu soup, also known as soondubu jjigae. Tofu soup is a traditional Korean stew, hearty and full of flavor. It’s usually made spicy with soft tofu that melts in your mouth. You can add seafood or beef, both equally delicious. Normally, there shouldn’t be any gluten in tofu soup. Every restaurant, however, makes their soup different, and my inability to speak Korean and uncertainty of knowing what ingredients they use makes eating too risky.

Luckily, I have a great Korean friend who told me how to make this dish and referred me to a handy Korean cooking blog: www.maangchi.com. The website has many Korean recipes and video instructions.

The recipe was simpler to follow than I thought and turned out fantastic. The flavor mainly comes from the anchovy base and the red pepper flakes, which give the stew a beautiful red color. The only thing I regretted was not adding enough red pepper flakes and tofu.