Red Curry Sauce- with PB

Red Thai Curry Sauce

Author: Pinch of Yum

Serves: 4

Source:http://pinchofyum.com/red-thai-curry-sauce

 

Ingredients

• 1 can light coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons red curry paste
• 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce (see notes)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ⅓ cup crushed peanuts
• up to ½ cup water or broth
• extra crushed peanuts and scallions for topping

Instructions

1. Pour the coconut milk into a small saucepan over high heat. When the coconut milk reaches a gentle simmer, add the peanut butter, curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and garlic. Whisk and keep on high heat for 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
2. Add the peanuts and simmer for another 5-10 minutes. When the sauce coats the back of a spoon, add small amounts of broth or water and whisk to adjust consistency depending on how you will use it and how thick you want it. If the sauce separates, just whisk vigorously to smooth it out again.
3. Serve over rice, noodles, chicken, fish, vegetables, or any other way that sounds good to you! Top with crushed peanuts and scallions.

Notes

More time simmering = thicker, creamier, more flavorful sauce. If you want a thinner sauce, I would simmer for less time and plan to add a bit of additional liquid. I've noticed that when I add the crushed peanuts, the consistency really thickens quite a bit, so you could omit the peanut butter and/or peanuts to also adjust to your desired consistency.

Last note: I know the fish sauce might take some convincing, but it is fairly easy to find at any grocery store and REALLY WORTH IT. Don't worry - it does not make the sauce taste like fish; it just makes it saltier and adds lots of deep flavor. Don't leave it out!

Except if you are vegetarian or vegan, then you can try swapping in soy sauce, miso, and/or hoison for the fish sauce.

Red Curry Chicken

• 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 3 Tbs. red Thai curry paste
• 2 cups snap peas, trimmed and cut in half on the diagonal
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced into 2-inch-long strips
• One 13.5- to 14-oz. can coconut milk
• 6 wild lime leaves (magrut or kaffir lime;optional)
• 1 Tbs. light brown sugar
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 5), cut into 1- to 1-1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup loosely packed Thai basil (or regular basil, torn into small pieces)
• 2 Tbs. fish sauce, more to taste
• 1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. fresh lime juice
• Kosher salt

Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 20 seconds. Take the pan off of the heat and stir in the snap peas, shallots, pepper, coconut milk, lime leaves (if using), sugar, and 1 cup water. Stir to combine.

Add the chicken, bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the basil, fish sauce, and lime juice. Let rest off the heat for 5 minutes. Season to taste with fish sauce or salt.

DIY Baby Food

DIY: Homemade Baby Food

So soon as my son began chewing at around 11 - 12 months, we started experimenting with different foods and were buying Gerber and Earth's Best baby food for his age range. I was happy with that for a bit but after awhile decided to try and make his food at home.

Looking at the ingredients on the baby food jars. It seemed really simple. Most were just "peas, water", "carrots, water", "apples", etc. So I figured this was doable and maybe a bit cheaper than spending $.72 to $1.50 per jar, where baby boy was quickly eating 2-3 jars a day.

I started off simple with fresh fruits and veggies: sweet potatoes, apples, peas and corn, green beans and peaches. Many of the very things I was buying in a jar.

The process went like this:

• skin veggies
• chop
• boil (to soften and kill off germs)
• puree in food processor
• portion out
• store in fridge or freezer

The first try was a bit daunting but I quickly got the hang of it. To create the portions, I used the same 6 oz jars of baby food that were saved and used then to measure. Once portioned, my hubby had the great idea of storing them in freezer bags for space-saving. That way they could be flattened and stacked, like pancakes, saving room in our already packed freezer. Once they were frozen hard, they can be set oupright for even more room.

I like to flip through them like a book!

I do have to note that while this may be healthier for the baby, it definitely takes up more time! In fact, I have easily spent 2+ hours just preparing baby food. But I would do it on a weekend and make enough for the entire week. As some time went on, I did found ways to cut some corners, like buying frozen veggies to eliminate the skinning and boiling time and buy already peeled and cut fruit. 

Since my son attends daycare, I pack his meals for the next day, the night before. So I thaw and spoon the food in baby food jars but had added chalkboard stickers to them and label them with a chalkboard marker (available at any craft store like Michael's or Target). It's probably not necessary, but its kinda fun to label your own jar of homemade food. 

For his home meals, I simple pull the frozen portions out the night before and leave them in the fridge and they go right in the bowl to microwave for eating.

Things I Learned

While I originally thought it would save some money, in the end, it didn't really. Fresh foods do cost more and I found what I was spending on them was coming to about the same as the jarred food. But prep and cooking time was obviously a lot longer. Also a lot messier. But there is still a lot of satisfaction in knowing your baby is eating something you created and even better, loving it!

Tips

• To keep food moist, I'd added purified water.
• Make sure to buy freezer bags as they are meant for this. Others have had success with ice cube trays and other freezer containers.
• If using a chalkboard marker, make sure its really dry before you write on it and let it dry after. Otherwise, it can smudge right off. It smudges easily in general.
• Ditalini is a great pasta for babies who are able to chew. Its just their size. 
• One cup of brown rice (not the instant but real brown rice) can create a lot of food. I've made 4-5 servings of food with it mixed with veggies.

Some of the meals I've created include:

• brown rice & peas
• brown rice & zucchini
• apples
• peaches
• spinach
• creamy spinach from Birds Eye (sooo good)
• peas & carrots
• carrots
• green beans
• peas & potatoes
• brown rice & squash
• artichokes and asparagus (Wegman's)
• Ditalini pasta & cherry tomatoes