I was determined not to be bored tonight. So what cures boredom? Shopping, cooking, eating, movie watching and blogging.
Since I've been obsessed for some time with Thai food, I decided that it was about time that I learned how to cook something other then my normal canned yellow curry with chicken, carrots and potatoes. So, I layered up (since it's about twenty-five degrees here) and wandered over to Barnes & Noble to peruse the cookbook section. I found Easy Thai Cookbook by Sallie Morris and was delighted to find inside a recipe for my all time favorite Thai soup: Tom Kha Gai; if you've been to Typhoon you should be very familiar with this treat. Now, anyone who's tried to recreate a dish they've had in a restaurant probably knows that disappointment is almost inevitable, unless it's something like spaghetti that you're trying to copycat. So, my hopes weren't very high for this endevor, but regardless I wandered around the corner to the grocery store.
Ingrediants now displayed on my counter top, I delved in. And let me tell you, this tastes just like what you'll get in a restaurant. It was fantastic, and even more fantastic because even with my tempermental cooking skills, I managed to pull this off!!!
If you don't want to go buy the book, here's the recipe:
1 2/3 cups canned coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/4 cups water
3/4 inch piece kha, peeled & finely sliced (now, I had never heard of this stuff, so I skipped it and all turned out just fine)
2 red chilies, seeded & sliced (don't seed them in hot water because you'll sneeze like ten times in a row)
1 lemon grass stem, lower 2 1/2 inches sliced
3 lime leaves, torn in pieces
4 TBS fish sauce (this stuff kind of groses me out, and really you only need 3Tbs for this recipe)
2 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1 chicken breast (6 oz or so), cut into slivers
cilantro leaves to garnish ( I also used sliced green onions)
--mushrooms-- (not part of this recipe, but I've had it with button mushrooms before)
1) Heat chicken stock with the water, kha, chilies, lemongrass, and torn lime leaves
2) Stir in coconut milk, then add the fish sauce, lemon juice, and sugar. Allow to come to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
3) Bring back to a boil, drop in the chicken slivers a few at a time so that they remain separate. Cook 3-4 minutes until the chicken is cooked
4) Serve garnished with cilantro
YUMMY!!
Next up, the movie: "Priceless" with Audrey Tautou (the girl from "Amelie", one of my favorite movies ever). And yes, it is in french, so you have to be in the mood for subtitles. I've been waiting to watch this movie since Netflix delivered it five days ago. Waiting because I'm too nice of a person to put Tim through what he would consider a mind-numbing chick flick in another language. And, while I've been blogging I've also been watching the previews on the disc and should add that I am now very very excited to add the movie "Paris, Je t'aime" to my Netflix que. The cast seems to be quite good: Steve Buscemi, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Miranda Richardson, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Nick Nolte, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elijah Wood, Emily Moritimer, Rufus Sewell, Natalie Portman, Gerard Depardieu, and Gena Rowlands. Can't be bad with a cast like that.
After the movie I get to finish decorating the christmas tree, and then I'll probably read some more of Toni Morrison's newest book A Mercy, play with Oliver a little bit, and go to sleep. All around, not a bad night.
:)
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