Salmon Thai Red Curry

I went to Antietam Battlefield yesterday to see the fields illuminated with 23,000 candles for every soldier who was wounded, killed or went missing during the battle.  They do it every year in December for just one night.

 

The battle occurred in September so I'm not sure why the illumination is done in December.  Despite the high number of casualties, the entire battle lasted only 12 hours.  After this battle, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.   

We got in line a little after nine, and our car arrived at the entrance an hour later.  I had an early day yesterday, and by 10:30 I was exhausted.  I was struggling to stay awake as we drove through the lighted fields.

It was beautiful.  The candles were in paper bags lined symmetrically for miles.  For most of the drive, the lines of candles were spread out across both sides of the fields.

I took pictures, but the pictures didn't do justice to the scene.  The lights are purchased with donations and installed on the fields by volunteers.  It was beautiful.

The original red curry recipe came from Fine Cooking.  I used salmon instead of chicken and added a few more vegetables and spices.

The ingredients are 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons red Thai curry paste, 2 cups sugar snap peas, 2 large shallots, 1 red pepper, one 14 ounce can coconut milk, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 pound salmon, 1 cup basil, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, zest and juice of a lime, 1/2 teaspoons dried turmeric, 1 thumb size piece ginger, 3 medium sized tomatoes, 1 8 ounce can bamboo shoots, 8 ounces mushrooms, 1 cup water, and salt.  What a list!

I added the oil to a wide sauce pan.  Once the oil was hot over medium-high heat, I added the curry paste.  I let the curry paste cook for 20 minutes.  The paste became fragrant.

I added the finely diced shallots, minced ginger, bell pepper, and mushrooms.

I added the diced tomatoes, drained bamboo shoots, coconut milk, and sugar snap peas.

I added the water, brown sugar, turmeric, and salt.  I stirred.

I added the salmon.  I used frozen salmon straight from the freezer.  I let the curry simmer for ten minutes.  The vegetables were tender, and the salmon fully cooked.

I removed the curry from the heat and added the basil, fish sauce, lime zest, and lime juice.

I stirred, broke up the large pieces of salmon, and let the curry rest for five minutes

I am a curry fanatic, and this salmon red curry was a particularly toothsome curry.  It had lighter flavors but it was still hearty because it was packed with delicious ingredients.

The flavors of the sauce were tropical and exotic.  It was creamy, subtly sweet, and savory.  

The salmon was flaky and the vegetables were soft but not mushy.

It was colorful, bright, and appetizing.  The flavors were spot on.

It was nourishing, warming, and scrumptious.  It made a filling meal for cold day.  I'll make it again.