What is the best dish ever? For me anyway, that really is a green curry or a panang curry, or just any curry at all! During the lockdown in Barcelona, I sat on the edge of my seat for over 1.5 months, waiting to go back to the oriental shop aka toko near Arc de Triomf.
Unattainable green curry love
After all, shopping “far away” was not allowed. After all, you don’t have the ready-made curry pastes in local supermarkets. So for this I had to walk at least 30 minutes, and yes, I was not allowed to. You understand that when I moved closer to Arc de Triomf (yes during corona time, that was another story) that the very first thing on my to do list was: buy curry pastes, in all shapes and sizes. So now my pantry is stocked again with green, yellow, red and panang curry paste. Me happy! You learn to appreciate the little things even more so during corona time.
Wandering around the toko aka oriental shop
That’s what I was wondering: do you have that? That you can really wander around a toko or oriental supermarket for a long time? I so enjoy seeing all these different kinds of vegetables, unfamiliar Asian things, all the different kinds of bottles of soy sauce, soy sauce and what makes me most happy are still the sambals. They are not like in NL, but I like these even better. The only thing I really miss is affordable tempeh, but you can’t have it all. By the way, at one of the oriental shops here, they have a whole range of spices listed in Dutch. A Chinese friend even says that many oriental shops here cooperate with Dutch suppliers and that they are the best. We’re not so crazy after all, the Dutch ;-).
Green Pepper
Ok, back to the Green Curry with green flavors, because as some may know, I work as a freelance marketing communications specialist. I actually make this recipe on my own initiative for one of my clients: Green Pepper: the sustainability event for the education of the future. This year was supposed to be the very first edition (previously it was NDDHO) but due to corona we opted for webinars. Update Green Pepper 2024 will take place in late May. Go to the Green Pepper website for all information and program
Very cool, because now you can be here too! For example, when you want to learn about Permaculture, biomimicry (super interesting, but I thought in the beginning: what the hell is that?) or just if you want to know how you as a student can have more impact on the canteen. And there is also a webinar on how to proceed with sustainability after corona? Would definitely recommend taking a look, register is free! Not to mention the presentation of the SustainaBul and always a great keynote.
As a green seasoning, there must also be a green pepper recipe, and just how are green peppers at their tastiest? In a green curry, of course! So herewith a green pepper curry with extra lots of green vegetables!
Green curry with green vegetables
Ingredients
- 150 g unpolished rice
- 3 cm ginger
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 onion
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 tbsp green curry paste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 pak choi
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 broccoli
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 300 ml broth
- 3 fresh lime leaves For sale in the freezer at the toko
- juice of half a lemon
- handful of fresh coriander
- handful of cashew nuts
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds or more if you like it
Preparation
- Chop the garlic and ginger into small pieces, chop the onion as you like. Do the same with the pak choi, broccoli and green bell bell pepper. It is best to leave the broccoli in florets and cut the pak choi the green part into strips lengthwise.
- In advance, prepare the rice according to the package.
- Put a large pan (wok for example) on medium-high heat and add some sunflower oil. Wait until it gets hot and then fry the onion, ginger and garlic. Make sure the ingredients do not stick.
- Next, add the curry paste. Mix well with the ingredients so that it smells nice. Pour in the soy sauce and stir into the mixture. Next, add the broccoli. Let fry for a while before adding the coconut milk, broth and fresh lime leaves to the mixture.
- Bring the coconut mixture to a boil and once it boils turn the heat to low. Now add the bell bell pepper and pak choi as well. Now simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Chop the cilantro and put the cashews in a mortar and grind. If you don’t have a mortar, you can also put them in a clean towel or tea towel and use something strong (I did it e.g. with the handle of my chef’s knife) to pound the cashews into small pieces.
- After 5 minutes (or 7 depending on how firm you like your broccoli) pour in the lemon juice (or just squeeze half the lemon over the pan, nice and easy, just catch the seeds) and mix.
- Serve the rice in bowls and pour the curry on top. Top with the cilantro, cashews and bit of sesame seeds.
Notes
Craving other curries? How about this one?
