Anybody can dump enough cayenne or hot sauce into a bowl of food to set your mouth on fire. Believe me, I’ve tried. The older I get, the more I look for complexity in ingredients and less painful spices. It’s one of the things that hooked me earliest and most irrevocably about Asian food: the spices, the pastes, the mouth-searing sauces, and dips. It takes a master to build the deeply pleasurable slow boil you find in some Thai dishes, the delicate interplay of sweet and sour and spicy, the gradual buildup of pleasured pain to the point that your vision starts to blur. Tongue burning on all sides, lips inflamed, nape of neck beading with sweat until full-on tunnel vision sets in. A sense of elation comes over me when my mouth swells and my brain floods with endorphins.
In Thailand, curry means paste which is not to be confused with the more recognizable Indian curry. Indian curry typically contains turmeric, cumin, and coriander and is often not a heavy sauce. Thai curry, on the other hand, uses a variety of curry pastes, mixed with coconut milk, to form a rich sauce in which meat and vegetables are simmered. Pressed aromatic chilies, garlic, coriander root, ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime rind, and shrimp paste add punch to dishes in a snap.
While I have yet to visit Thailand, I have lived vicariously through its rich, textured, and very old culture of flavors with colors ranging far beyond the familiar spectrum. Given our limited time on Earth, I may not ever travel again, but that does not mean I have to miss out on the nearly limitless variety of sensory experiences readily available in this country. We are a place where food traditions meet with the presence of different ethnic groups that generate a wealth of culinary opportunities. This type of diversity doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world. Next time you are at the market, journey down the International aisle. Grab your melting pot and get ready for a cultural passport to the senses. Whether it’s red, green, yellow, or massaman, if you enjoy complex spicy foods, give curry a Thai.
Thai Chicken Soup with Cauliflower and Bok Choy
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
- 1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
- ½ head of bok choy, diced into large pieces
- 1/2 (8-ounce) package rice noodles
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
DIRECTIONS:
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
- Add garlic and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in red curry paste and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken broth and coconut milk, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in chicken. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced, about 10 minutes.
- Add cauliflower and bok choy.
- Stir in rice noodles, fish sauce, and brown sugar until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat; stir in green onions, cilantro, basil, and lime juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
