Thai Cuisine

We explored Thai food in my World Cuisines course in culinary school. That was my favorite class during my culinary school journey. It was 12 weeks long, but I wished it was longer. There were so many more cuisines I wanted to explore.

Vegan Green Thai Curry Recipe & Kitchen Equipment 

• Canola oil, as needed
• 1 can green curry paste
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 cup carrots, oblique cut
• 1 tablespoon shoyu (aka soy sauce)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Basil leaves, chiffonade (pronounced “shif-oh-nod”) cut, as needed
• Thai chiles, thinly sliced, as needed
• Kosher salt, as needed
• Cooked rice, as needed
• Cornstarch (to thicken), as needed
  
• Measuring bowls, cups, and spoons
• Mixing bowls/cups/spoons for mise en place ingredients
• Cutting board
• Chef knife
• Saucepan
• Thermometer
• Wooden spoon
• Rice cooker
• Rice scooper
• Serving bowl
• Spoon

Cooking Instructions

1. Sanitize kitchen (sink, countertops, stovetop/oven, cupboard handles, phone, computer).
2. Put chicken thighs in the freezer for 25-30 minutes to harden a bit to make it easier to slice into cubes.
3. Chiffonade basil leaves.
   1. Chiffonade style cuts herbs into thin strips
   2. Stack the individual leaves.
   3. Roll the stacked leaves.
   4. Cut the basil into thin slices.
4. Thinly slice chiles.
5. Wash and cook rice.
6. Mise en place ingredients.
7. Add oil to a pan over medium-high heat.
8. Add curry paste and sauté until it is fragrant.
9. Add coconut milk over medium-high heat.
10.  Stir until the sauce thickens. Reduce by ¼. Add cornstarch if the sauce does not thicken.
11. Add stock, shoyu, and sugar.
12. Stir, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer.
13. Stir and cook until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165ºF.
14. Taste and season accordingly.
15. Remove from the heat.
16. Scoop rice into a serving bowl.
17. Ladle the curry into the bowl.
18. Garnish with basil and thinly sliced chiles.
19. Serve immediately.

Coconut Milk Health Benefits

Coconut milk is a popular ingredient in Thai cuisine, specifically curry dishes. I’ve recently grown to love coconut milk. It’s a non-dairy milk alternative; it’s healthy, creamy, and yummy, especially in smoothies.

In a future post coming soon, I will highlight seven health categories that are important to me. These topics help me choose the right ingredients to purchase to cook the dishes and live healthily.

Surprisingly, I learned that coconut milk has numerous benefits.

Levy (2022) confirms that coconut milk is “brain food” because it provides energy to the mind. So who wouldn’t appreciate this pick-me-up?

Coconut milk nourishes the digestive lining due to its electrolytes and healthy fats, improving gut health and preventing conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

This beverage may help lower inflammation. Inflammation is associated with painful conditions like arthritis and general joint or muscle aches and pains.

Coconut milk in place of refined sugar is beneficial for people with arthritis (or other autoimmune conditions) because sugar is pro-inflammatory and linked to low immunity, worsened pain, and swelling.

References

Levy, J. (2022). 9 Major health benefits of coconut milk nutrition. Retrieved from: https://draxe.com/nutrition/coconut-milk-nutrition/