Paht Thai and Green Curry Over Rice

How much does a granite, 2 inch mortar and pestle weigh? Well, I had no clue when I purchased it online, but it turns out to be about 30 pounds. I bought it with the wild hope of making my own Thai and Indian curries, which I had seen my sister-in-law make dozens of times when I first moved to Philly. Curries are some of the most flavorful, fresh, and relatively inexpensive additions I can think of to kick up chicken, seafood, vegetables, or simply to toss with rice or noodles. Cheap, flavorful...that's my thing.

Running late, I lugged my new toy boulder from my office where I have packages delivered, through the Reading Terminal Market, and back to West Philly. At RTM, I picked up some more of that stuffed Brie that they do so well--this time Fig and Almond stuffed. I also got a Young Minolette cheese--tastes like a richer cheddar.

Back home, the power was on the fritz. Luckily the lights were still working and I started prepping the ingredients for the Green Curry. About half-way, however, the power went completely out and I had to chop green chiles by candle light. I got a new Forschner chef's knife--highly recommended--and I'm lucky I didn't lose a digit in the dim light. Ten minutes later the power was back. Overall, the prep took a fair amount of time (~30-45 minutes) dry frying coriander seeds, mincing 3 tablespoons of garlic, slicing and peeling lemongrass, de-stemming and chopping 1/2 cup of green chiles (yeah, that's some heat).

My first experience with the mortar and pestle was a strong first attempt and everything was mixing/mashing well, but still a little fibrous and not completely pasty. So, with the good recommendation of my sous chef Sarah-Jane, I dumped it all in the blender with a little water and finished the job. Word to the wise: don't open a jar of shrimp paste, stick your nose right over the jar and inhale. I know what you are thinking. "Jeff, why on earth would you do that?" I recognize your confusion and I have no explanation. Nor can I explain why I did it again after blending the green curry. Nasal passage burn.

Next I put a few teaspons of the curry into a saucepan with coconut milk, chicken broth, brown sugar and a tablespoon of fish sauce. I let that reduce while prepping the Paht Thai. This dish, the staple of most Thai meals, involves very high heat and quick action with a wok or deep pan. Garnish with cilantro (did I mention my love affair with cilantro in a previous post?) and roasted, chopped peanuts. The meal turned out great, with the exception that the noodles were a bit al dente and could have soaked a little longer.

I poured the green curry coconut sauce over jasmine rice--garnished with cilantro and lime--and voila! This was the winner by knock-out. A great balance of flavors and intensity.

Now, why didn't I just buy green curry paste instead of making my own? Could have done that...but what else am I going to do with the mortar and pestle? And now I can start tweaking the recipe to get my preferred level of heat.

The meal was cheap, of course. Here's the break down:

1/2 lb peeled and deveined shrimp: $7.00
1/4 lb thai rice stick noodles: $.50
1/2 C roasted peanuts: $1.00
1 C bean sprouts: $0.75
1 bunch Cilantro: $0.40
fish sauce: $0.20
shrimp paste: $0.15
coriander seed: negligible
cumin: negligible
green chiles: $0.85
lemon grass: $1.00
shallots: $0.55
garlic: $1.00
ginger: $0.79
limes: $1.00

SubTotal: $16.19*
Total per person: $8.10

*This is an inflated number because I had enough curry paste to use for 3-4 more meals. The Paht Thai cost for the night were ~$4.00 per person.

These two recipes come from Real Thai: The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking by Nancie McDermott. I would also like to go through some of the recipes posted here.

Also, Bryan and I are so proud of ourselves. We want to share with everybody our most recent handiwork. Where once there was unused, vacant, boring wall space, we created a spice and liquor shelf.

They haven't fallen down yet...pray for us.

Now this is the part in Sprockets where we dance:

Broiled Tilapia with Thai Coconut-Curry Sauce

Broke and Hungry, only a week old, has already earned a following of friends, family and curious/confused on-lookers. Thanks to all our avid readers - especially those with tips to share! And if you are broke and hungry and have a recipe to share, send it on.

As Bryan mentioned, B&H went on the road Sunday to our friend Gretchen's house for a meal of Broiled Tilapia with Thai Coconut-Curry Sauce.

When we arrived, we were greeted with appetizers of Goat Cheese with Bell Pepper Dressing. Slices of goat cheese were draped with a tri-color bell pepper, garlic, rosemary, coriander, fennel, pine nuts and olive oil and served on slivers of toasted baguette.

The total cost for a 6 person serving (for the four of us) was $6.85 or $1.71 per person.

I brought over two white wines that I had just purchased, and we sipped on the Riesling while watching Gretchen move on to broil the tilapia.

Living in old houses in West Philadelphia sometimes have their advantages, principally that old ovens are usually both gas range and have an under oven broiler. This is a separate drawer (that many people use to store bakeware) that is positioned very close the oven's flame--high heat, short cook times. One of my old roommates used to cook steaks in ours and would always set off the smoke alarm--but he made delicious steaks in five minutes.

Gretchen placed the tilapia filets on a sheet of parchment paper and brushed them lightly with sesame seed oil. The tilapia cost $8.39 or $2.10 per person.

She then worked on the sauce, which again included bell peppers alongside ginger, garlic, green onions, curry powder, red curry paste, coconut milk, brown sugar, cumin, and soy sauce.

It also used a generous portion of cilantro, which is more than just my favorite herb, it competes for my favorite taste of all time and is why I am drawn to any recipe that uses it. Back in Austin, where I grew up, it's the staple of any good Tex-Mex dish. Cilantro also plays a central part of Vietnamese and Thai cuisine, which I am committed to learning how to cook this year (in addition to Indian and more seafood).

Considering how much I use it at home, I should really grow my own. I have a tendency to neglect houseplants, but maybe cilantro and other herbs will earn more attention from me as I envision a future for them in various dishes.

So, after sauteing the peppers and onions, mixing with spices and adding the coconut milk, Gretchen pulled the tilapia out of the broiler and plated it on top of bowls of basmati rice (again my favorite rice).

Here is a picture of the finished meal, which was very flavorful and one that I plan to replicate at home. Top it with a few more cilantro sprigs and a squeeze of fresh cut lime and you've got a rock concert on top of that fish.

With the tilapia and the sauce, the cost was $13.09 or merely $3.27 per person.

After dinner we had some mint chocolate chip ice cream: $1.19 per person.

So the cost breakdown...

Appetizers:
$6.85 or $1.71 per person

Main Course:
$13.09 or merely $3.27 per person

Dessert:
$4.76 or $1.19 per person

TOTAL: $24.70 or $6.18 per person

Here's the chef with her creation
Author's note: The first two meals--King Salmon and Filet Mignon--were purposely chosen to be slightly provocative. Organic King Salmon and Filet Mignon on a blog called Broke and Hungry?!? Usually considered out of the price range for many folks, I wanted to show that even those high priced items can be prepared inexpensively.

Now, Bryan and I do not eat that richly every week, in fact with easy access to a great farmer's market, most of our diet is made up of whatever fresh produce is available. Right now we cannot get enough of ripe tomatoes and sweet corn.

On Bryan's recommendation, we will work on creating some theme posts where we demonstrate how to make a delicious and filling vegetarian meal...which is saying something considering our upbringing as good Midwestern and Southern boys with a penchant for meat-centric meals. We are also thinking of doing a Friday Under Five post, where we make a meal that costs less than $5.00 per person...so stay tuned and share us with your friends and co-workers. And send us your favorite inexpensive meal ideas.

Now, food undressed: