Thai Red Curry

This is probably my favorite thing to make (and eat), and I make it more regularly than anything else. It's taken this long to get it on the interweb because I never seem to get a good photo of it. At this point, I surrender. I'll post some photos now, and maybe update at a later time if I ever do capture it appropriately. So, for now, here it is - the legendary Thai red curry!

1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
Olive oil
1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk
2 Tablespoons Thai red curry paste
1 teaspoon fish sauce
Chili paste (or chili oil)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon fresh ground ginger
1 lime
4 chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
Vegetables (cut into bite size pieces)
Rice
Basil

What makes this recipe so awesome is that it's very flexible. All of the ingredients for the sauce are really to taste, so proportions are not set in stone. Different curry pastes can be very different (especially in the hotness-factor), so add slowly and taste your way to the best flavor. I usually use chicken, but any meat/seafood/tofu would work. Also, all sorts of vegetables are good in this dish. Some of my favorites are broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco, red peppers, string beans, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, mushrooms. Whatever you can find. Get creative!


Okay. Start by sauteing the onions and garlic in olive oil in a wok until translucent. Add the coconut milk and let everything warm together. Slowly add the curry paste until you reach a flavor that you like. Next add fish sauce, stir everything together and let it simmer for a few moments. Add chicken and let everything simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir dish and let simmer another 10 minutes. Add sugar and chili paste to sauce until desired flavor is achieved. Next add vegetables. Let everything simmer together until vegetables are cooked. The longer everything simmers, the thicker the sauce will get. If the sauce gets too thick, add some more water. Keep in mind that the vegetables will release a lot of water once they start cooking, so wait to add any water until after veggies have been added.
A few minutes before finishing, grate some fresh ginger into the wok. Stir to incorporate. Immediately before serving squeeze lime juice over curry and tear some fresh basil on top. Serve over rice. And there you have it!

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Ginger Noodles

Recently, I have been making a lot of Asian food. I think the "Foreign Exotic Imports Market" is my favorite shop in Budapest. This recipe came about late one night when a craving for cheap Chinese food hit, and after the many Kínai Gyors Büfé proved their inability to satisfy such needs.

3 Chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
1 cup flour
2 eggs (beaten)
Water
1 cup breadcrumbs
Salt
Pepper
Sesame seeds
Ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup Rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon white sugar
5 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 can baby corn
1 box noodles
Vegetable oil
Sesame oil

For chicken:
Start by preparing 3 bowls. The first contains flour, salt, pepper, sesame seeds, and baking soda. The second contains eggs, water, salt, and pepper. And the third contains breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and sesame seeds. Dredge the chicken in flour, then coat them with egg, and then cover in breadcrumb mix. When all chicken pieces are sufficiently breaded, heat some vegetable oil over high heat and fry the pieces for about 3 minutes each or until the outside begins to brown and they are cooked through.

For sauce:
Combine vinegar, brown & white sugars, honey, soy sauce, tomato paste, and salt. Mix well.

For noodles:
Heat sesame oil in wok. Add cooked noodles and stir fry to coat noodles in oil. Add baby corn. Add a splash of soy sauce to the wok. Generously grate fresh ginger over noodles and continue stir frying until everything is hot.

Pour sweet and sour sauce over chicken pieces, or use as a dipping sauce. Serve with noodles and enjoy!

Chicken Parmigiana

My kitchen has been a demolition zone for the last few weeks, so I have spent as little time in there as possible. Finally things are back to a state of serenity (at least we have a floor again), so I hit up the market and made something else delicious that we miss from the states: the chicken parm sub! w00t w00t! We actually found a place here in Budapest that does a decent job at this, but I knew I could do it better.

2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced thin
1 cup flour, season with salt and pepper
3 eggs, beaten and combined with water, salt, and pepper
1 cup bread crumbs, seasoned with salt and pepper
3/4 cup Olive oil
Tomato sauce
100 grams Fresh Mozzarella cheese
100 grams Scamorza cheese
1/2 cup Parmesean cheese, grated
Good bread rolls
Parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

First, prepare the flour, egg, and bread crumb combinations in separate bowls. Take thinly sliced chicken breasts and coat them in flour, being sure to knock off any excess. Next, dip the chicken in the egg to cover it and finally roll it in the bread crumbs so the entire piece is coated in the batter. Do this for all chicken pieces. Next, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook in oil for about 2 minutes of each side, or until the chicken in cooked through and the outside is golden.

Spread good tomato sauce inside the sandwich rolls and cover with thin slices of mozzarella cheese. Generously arranged chicken pieces on top of the cheese. Cover the chicken with more tomato sauce and thin slices of scamorza chesse. Sprinkle entire sandwich with grated parmesean cheese and chopped parsley. Pop the sandwiches in the oven for a few minutes until cheese is melted and bread is toasted.

Heck yea!