Let's get down to the terminology. "Curry" as used to describe Thai dishes is a translation of the Thai word "Gaeng" which is used by the Thais to refer to a kind of thin spicy soup-like dish eaten with rice.
Sometimes people may be surprised when their Thai "curry" arrives in a soup bowl and indeed feels more like a soup than the Indian thicker more sauce-like dish they were expecting.
Personally, I think that if you're going to eat something with rice, it's better to err on the thicker side so that's what I'll be doing with this dish.
Another thing: should you buy a ready-made green curry paste or make your own? Make your own! It's fresher, tastier and you can control how hot you want it or tweak it to your own personal preferences. And it's fun! And if you do it right, it tastes miles better than some bland jar from your supermarket.
Serves: 4
Cost per person: around 4 zl (40 Thai Baht, 81 UK pence, 95 Euro cents)
What do we need?
For the paste:
- 2-3 shallots or 1/2 a bunch of spring onion (leaves)
- a handful of basil leaves
- a handful of coriander leaves
- chopped up coriander root from the coriander leaves
- 3 green chillies
- 2 inch of ginger
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- a pinch of salt
- tsp black pepper corns (dry roasted)
- tsp cumin seeds (dry roasted)
- tsp coriander seeds (dry roasted)
For the stir fry:
- 400 g chicken breast
- vegetables of choice (onion/ radish/ peppers/ carrot work well)
For the sauce:
- a nice glug of fish sauce
- a nice glug of soy sauce
- a cup of coconut milk (dissolve 1/4 of a bar of creamed coconut in hot water)
All you Thai purists out there will have noticed that I've missed out some key ingredients which are bloody hard to get outside of SE Asia. Here they are:
- galangale (it's a bit like ginger in appearance but with a sharper taste. I've just doubled up the ginger instead)
- kaffir lime leaves (useless dried, so I've just used extra lemon to compensate)
- lemon grass (just used lemon juice to compensate)
- kaffir lime peel (just used lemon zest to compensate)
- shrimp paste (you could substitute by adding a couple of anchovies into the paste mix, but I just splashed in some extra fish sauce to compensate)
Trust me: the result tastes good even without those 5 authentic but omitted ingredients.
Shall we get cracking?
1. Get your ingredients together
Don't forget the basil like I nearly did!
2. Dry roast the pepper corns, cumin and coriander and transfer to a coffee grinder. Grind up real good.
3. Add the rest of those paste ingredients to the grinder and grind like you've never ground before!
4. Get ready to stir fry! You need the wok nice and hot. Add a little oil. I'll use coconut oil for a more authentic taste.
5. Stir fry the chicken to seal (1-2 mins)
6. Get the veg in and stir (30 secs)
7. Paste in.
8. Glug in the fish sauce. I use the Cock brand because the name amuses me.
9. Soy sauce in.
10. Coconut milk in. Cook for a further minute until the sauce has slightly reduced.
11. You should be ready now. The whole cooking process should be over in around 5 minutes. No longer or the chicken will start to "rubber up"
12. Serve with rice (jasmine rice gives you that real Thai feel but any long grain variety will work)
What did all this end up costing?
- chicken: 6.50 zl
- vegetables (peppers and onions): 2 zl
- paste ingredients: 5 zl
- coconut milk and the rest: 1 zl
- rice: 1.60 zl
Total: 16.10 zl
Serves: 4
Per person: 4.03 zl
A Pakora is basically an Indian snack involving something deep fried in a chickpea batter. And very tasty they are too. Perfect as a snack or a side-dish. Yum!
I've called this "aubergine and broccoli" pakora but really you could try any vegetable you fancy in this - give it a whirl and it might turn out great!
What's the cost?
Depends on the vegetable. I'll do a costing for mixed broccoli and aubergine pakora 50-50.
Came out at 0.90 zl per person (18 pence, 21 Euro cents, 1.59 Danish Kroner)
You'll need:
- 1/2 aubergine
- 1/4 head of broccoli
- 3 tablespoons of chickpea flour (gram flour)
- 1 tablespoon of rice flour
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 chopped green chillies
- 1/4 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp salt
- a pinch of ajwain seeds
- a tsp of roughly ground coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/3 bottle of veg oil for frying
Let's go!
1. Grind down the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar.
2. Add everything (except the vegetables) into a bowl
3. Add enough water to form a crepe-like batter. Whisk well.
4. Get the deep frying oil medium hot. Do the onion test. Put a small slice of onion in the oil. When it rises to the surface and starts bubbling, the oil is the right temperature - keep on medium heat. Dip the vegetables into the batter to cover and then into the oil.
5. They should take around 5 minutes or so. Drain when brown but don't burn!
Enjoy!
One thing - this recipe uses something called "ajwain" - these are tiny seeds with a very strong thyme-like flavour. You only need a pinch but they impart a special je ne sais quoi to the dish. Get them from an Asian store.
What did this cost?
- Veg: 2 zl
- Oil: 1.7 zl
- Rest: 0.80 zl
Total: 4.5
Would serve around 5
Per person: 0.90 zl
Remember the falafel recipe? They go well with a simple salad, especially now that so much good stuff is in season and at its best.
I'm not into dry salad so I always make some kind of dressing to go with it. Here's a mustard vinaigrette - probably the easiest thing you'll ever make after which you'll wonder why people buy dressings from the supermarket at 5 times the price.
You'll need:
- whatever salad you fancy
- a good old glug of extra virgin olive oil
- a tsp of strong mustard
- a splash of white wine vinegar (or perhaps cider vinegar)
- a tiny caress of salt
- a generous dose of freshly milled black pepper
Just a couple of things before we begin:
1. Use extra virgin olive oil for uncooked stuff like salads. Use a lower grade olive oil for cooking. Trust me.
2. NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER use ready ground black pepper. NEVER!! ALWAYS mill the pepper yourself from pepper corns. Did I make myself clear?
Got that off my chest so let's get going:
1. Olive oil, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper in a bowl.
2. Whisk up till combined.
3. Add the salad to the bowl and rub into the dressing with your hands.
4. Enjoy
What did this cost?
Bugger all!
Thanks to Dorota Kamińska-Jones for cooking this one!
Leczo is basically a Hungarian stew with peppers, onion, tomatoes and sausage finished off with a little paprika and cayenne. Simple and hearty, it makes excellent use of the seasonal peppers you find in markets around August-September. Seasonal stuff means stuff at its freshest (and cheapest).
Serve on its own or with bread rolls to mop up the delicious juices.
Serves: 6
Cost per person: 2.42 zl (49 UK pence, 58 Euro cents, 4.50 Norwegian Kroner)
What you need:
- 1 kg mixed peppers
- 3 large onions
- 3 large tomatoes
- 1 real (from a butcher) pork sausage (the less fatty, the better)
- 1 tsp tomato puree
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
- salt and pepper to taste
Let's get on with it!
1. Chop up the peppers and put in a deep pan.
2. Pour in water up to half the height of the peppers. Bring to a boil and reduce to low.
3. Onions chopped. Into the pan. Sprinkle with salt. Sauté till transparent.
4. Meanwhile, skin the tomatoes. Make a criss cross on the back. Then put in a bowl and pour boiling water over. Wait till the skins separate from the flesh. Peel back and off like you're skinning a cat!
5. Onions in.
6. Tomatoes in. Sweat them down nicely.
7. Tomato puree in.
8. Spices in.
9. Season. Keep the heat on low and let the stew develop.
10. In the meantime, fry the sausages till brown.
11. Drain on kitchen paper.
12. Sausages in.
13. Done!
Enjoy!
Cost:
- peppers: 4.50 zl
- onions: 1.50 zl
- tomatoes: 4 zl
- sausage: 4 zl
- the rest: 0.50 zl
Total: 14.50
Serves: 6
Per person: 2.42 zl
When I lived in Alexandria, I really fell in love with falafel, the Middle-East chickpea staple. It's full of flavour, versatility and nutrition. You've got protein from the chickpeas and then there's the immune system boost from the garlic and onion. Put it together with special hot sauce and a salad and then you've got a balanced meal packed full of vitamins and fibre too.
And it's dirt cheap!
You can eat this in many many different ways. I mean, it goes with many many different things. In terms of eating, you're generally going to use your mouth. In this version, I'm just letting it work alongside a simple salad (recipe to follow).
Cost (for falafels only): 0.30 zl per falafel (6 UK pence, 10 US cents, 0.53 Argentinian Pesos)
What you need for the falafel:
- 2-3 handfuls of dried chickpeas
- a good handful of chopped up spring onion (the green stem)
- 1-2 cloves of sliced garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- a good amount of freshly milled black pepper
One word of warning before we begin: NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER use pre-cooked or canned chickpeas for this dish - they will disintegrate during the deep frying process. ONLY USE DRIED CHICKPEAS SOAKED OVERNIGHT.
Let's go!
1. Soak the chickpeas overnight or for at least 8 hours. Drain.
2. Add all the ingredients to a food processor.
3. Whizz up to a fairly coarse paste. You shouldn't need to add extra water. What you want is a pretty firm paste, not soggy.
4. Here's an important step: PUT THE MIXTURE INTO THE FRIDGE FOR 30 MINUTES. This helps the binding process and helps the falafel stay together during the deep frying process.
5. Deep fry on a medium heat until golden brown.
6. Enjoy with salad, yoghurt and special hot sauce (see a previous posting for the recipe)
What this cost?
- chickpeas: 1.50 zl
- the rest: 1.50 zl
Total: 3 zl
Makes approximately 10 falafel
Per falafel: 0.30 zl
As promised, the follow-up to yesterday's recipe for special hot sauce. Here I'm using it almost like a pizza sauce spread over the bread, topped with cheese and tomato and grilled in the oven. Dead easy. Dead delicious. Let's rock!
This one's great at the moment with tomatoes being in season. I went to the local market (http://www.sopockirynek.pl/doc_10.html) this morning and had a field day. Raspberry tomatoes for only 4.50 zl a kilo! That's real shopping.
Total cost: 2.37 zl per person (49 UK pence, 57 Euro cents, 76 US cents) - cheaper than a frozen pizza from your local supermarket, eh? Healthier too!
Serves: 2
What do we need for this?
- a small baguette
- special hot sauce (around 4 tablespoons)
- 125g mozzarella
- a handful of basil leaves
- one medium tomato
- salt and pepper
Let's get cracking!
1. Halve the baguettes. Spread with special hot sauce.
2. Mozzarella on.
3. Basil on.
4. Slice the tomato and cover. Season with salt and pepper. Don't be shy!
5. Grill in the oven on max till the cheese starts to bubble.
Enjoy!
Cost breakdown:
- baguette: 1 zl
- special hot sauce (around 4 tablespoons): 0.65 zl
- 125g mozzarella: l lucked out in Lidl and picked up a pack for 1.88 zl
- a handful of basil leaves: 0.20 zl
- one medium tomato: 1 zl
Total: 4.73 zl
Serves: 2
Per person: 2.37 zl
This is my very own special hot sauce, good for anything really - barbecues, meat, sandwiches, falafel, wraps etc. Whatever it is, this sauce will lend your meal a nice warm comforting kick!
Cost per jar: 2.20 zl (45 UK pence. Now that's cheaper than your Reggae Reggae Sauce, eh?)
You'll need:
- a dash of olive oil
- 3 dry red bird's eye chillies
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 2 cloves finely chopped garlic
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- a good dash of soy sauce
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- a handful of basil leaves (optional)
- some fresh coriander (optional)
- 1 tin of tomatoes
- salt to taste
What to do next?
1. Olive oil in a hot pan. Cumin seeds and dry chillies in.
2. Onions in. Add a little salt to help them sweat down quicker. After around 7 minutes, add the chopped garlic.
3. After around 10 minutes add the sugar
4. Soy sauce in
5. Tomatoes, bay leaves, herbs in
6. Reduce down for about 30 minutes on a low heat till you have a fairly thick sauce.
7. You can leave it like this for a chunkier feel or you might want to whizz up in a blender for some smoothness. Up to you.
Enjoy!
Some recipes with the special hot sauce will follow real soon!
What does it cost to make this sauce?
Approximately 2.20 zl per jar. How many people will it serve? How long will it last? Depends! Keep it in the fridge, though and it will last about a week or so.
