Thai One On

Posted by Andrew

















One of a few small disadvantages of moving to a smaller city is the fact that exotic ingredients are harder to come by. Take lemongrass for example, a staple herb in especially Thai cuisine (sort of like how basil and oregano would be in Italian cuisine). Not one of the three competing supermarket companies in Brandon stocked any fresh lemongrass on their shelves, and I'm rather loath to try either the frozen minced type or, get this, a toothpaste tube style product. Alas, I had to forgo lemongrass in my attempt to do a Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup with Shrimp.

As inspiration, I partially relied on the Thai Curried Chicken Soup recipe found in the Williams-Sonoma Soup book. I substitued chicken with shrimp, which turned out alright. I'm definitely cutting back on the amount of coconut milk for this recipe next time; this recipe called for 3 cups (750mL), or about 2 cans' worth. Definitely helped enhance the aroma, but coconut milk is one of those liquids that can be more filling than others.

Also, you may notice that I've also garnished my dinner with sliced "scrambled" egg (scrambled only in that the yolk and white were mixed well; the egg mixture was cooked flat in a small non-stick pan); a little extra I added to the dish. As well, with the lack of veggies (other than mushrooms) in the dish, I made sure to add some bean sprouts in the soup as well.

After tasting my first attempt at this dish, aside from cutting back on the coconut milk, I also realize that I can add some Thai chilis next time around to give it more of a kick. I should also cut back on the amount of noodles I use for one dinner... oof!