Thai Shrimp Green Curry

A memorable event occurred yesterday.  I saw the daughter of a well known politician purchasing food at a swanky deli.  I wouldn't have noticed, but the employee helping me at a nearby counter mouthed the words to me.

He had to repeat this charade a few times before I understood.  I don't read lips well.  I wouldn't have noticed if the employee hadn't pointed it out to me.  Her back was towards me, and her security personnel were casually dressed.

The only famous people I see are politicians.  That's not surprising as I live in the DC area.  I saw Paul Ryan at the airport.  We were actually on the same flight.  I was able to take a very close, stalker photo of him.  

I am 80 percent certain I saw Senator Joseph Lieberman walking on a DC street.  I shook the hand of Justice Scalia after listing to him speak at an event.  I have also seen Senators McCain, Inouye, and Reed from a distance.  I'm so cool.

Green curry is green because of green chiles.  In addition to green curry paste, it is made with some kind of protein, coconut milk, sugar, and fish sauce.  It is eaten with rice or round rice noodles.  Apparently there is a thicker green curry made with beef that is eaten with a flat bread called roti.

This green curry shrimp recipe came from food.com.  I made a few alterations.  I added tomatoes, carrots, fish sauce, and brown sugar.  I replaced the lemon juice with lime juice.  A more traditional recipe would have kaffir lime leaves and palm sugar.  

The ingredients are 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 cups diced eggplants, 1 cup grape tomatoes, 1 cup sliced carrots, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1 sliced orange pepper, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, 2 tablespoons thai green curry paste, 2 tablespoon lime juice, 14 ounces unsweetened coconut milk, 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp, 1/2 cup chopped basil, 1/4 teaspoon salt,  2 tablespoon fish sauce, 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon water.  Phew! What a list of ingredients!

I added the oil to a pan over medium-high heat.  I added the onions and garlic.  I cooked the garlic and onions until the onions had softened.  This took around five minutes.

I added the thinly sliced carrots and orange pepper.  I added the chopped egg plant.  I sautéed the vegetables for around four minutes.

I added the green curry paste, brown sugar, fish sauce,  and lime juice. I stirred these ingredients together.

I added the coconut milk, chicken broth, and grape tomatoes.  I brought the curry up to a boil.  I let it simmer for a couple of minutes.

I added the shrimp.  My shrimp was still frozen.  I'm not sure if that was a good idea.  It turned out okay, but I probably should have defrosted the shrimp first.   I brought the curry up to a simmer again.    I created a slurry with the cornstarch and water.  I added it to the curry.  I let the curry simmer for an additional four to five minutes.

I added the finely shopped Thai basil and removed the curry from the heat.

 I served this curry over rice.  I added a few more leaves of Thai basil as garnish.

This curry was delicious.  The flavors were fresh, light, and tropical.

The broth was flavorful, aromatic, sweet, and salty.

The vegetables were tender, colorful, hearty, and wholesome.

The shrimp gave the curry some substance and protein, but it was still light.  I prefer lighter meals in the summer, and this fit the bill.

This was a delectable and pleasurable meal.

 The flavors were exotic and satisfying.  I ate it with gusto.  Yum!