Recipes from "Let the Great World Spin"

 


Thai Shrimp Curry

The curry sauce recipe is easy to make. The secret ingredient in this curry is a hint of tomato in an otherwise basic yellow curry, which brings the taste up to a new level.

Ingredients: serves 4 as an entree

• · 12-14 medium to large fresh shrimp - remove the shells, but leave the tails on
• · 1 14 fl. oz can pineapple chunks (or 1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh pineapple chunks)
• · 1 1/2 to 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• · handful of fresh coriander (to garnish)
• Curry Sauce:
• · 1 can good-quality coconut milk (regular or lite)
• · 1 stalk lemongrass, finely sliced and minced - see instructions below (OR 2-3 Tbsp. frozen prepared lemongrass)
• · 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced (OR substitute 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. dried crushed chili)
• · 1/4 cup purple onion, minced
• · 3-4 cloves garlic, minced OR 1/2 Tbsp. bottled pureed garlic
• · 1 thumb-size piece galangal or ginger, grated or minced
• · 1/2 tsp. shrimp paste (available by the bottle at Asian/Chinese food stores), OR substitute 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
• · 3/4 tsp. turmeric
• · 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• · 3 kaffir lime leaves (frozen or fresh)
• · 1-2 Tbsp. brown sugar (to taste)
• · 1 Tbsp. ketchup OR 3/4 Tbsp. tomato paste (if using tomato paste, sweeten it with 1 more tsp. sugar)
• · 2 Tbsp. fish sauce + more to taste (available in tall bottles at Asian/Chinese food stores)
• · squeeze of lime juice

Preparation:

Place all curry sauce ingredients - except the lime leaves - together in a food processor, blender, or large chopper and process well. OR, simply whisk the ingredients together, stirring well to combine. Pour sauce into a wok or deep pot on the stove. Add the kaffir lime leaves, and turn heat up to medium-high. Stir occasionally. When the sauce reaches a boil, turn down the heat to medium. Add the pineapple chunks, cherry tomatoes, and shrimp, stirring to incorporate. Simmer for 6-8 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink and look plump. Do a taste test for salt and sweetness, adding more fish sauce if not salty enough, and more sugar if you'd like it sweeter. Also, you can add more fresh chili or chili sauce if you'd like it spicier.To serve, transfer curry into a serving bowl. Sprinkle the rest of the toasted coconut overtop, plus a little fresh coriander. Serve with plenty of Thai jasmine-scented rice, and ENJOY!

Lemongrass-Scented Coconut Rice

Ingredients:

• · 2 cups jasmine rice
• · 3 thick stalks of fresh lemongrass, bruised and tied into knots
• · 1-1/2 cups water
• · 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
• · 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• · 10 fresh or dried whole daun salam leaves (optional; see Cook's Note, below)

Preparation:

1. Place the rice in a 1-1/2- or 2-quart saucepan. Fill the pot halfway with cold water. If any rice hulls or small twigs float to the surface, scoop them aside with your hand and discard them. Gently swirl your fingers through the rice until the water becomes cloudy with the rice's surface starch, about 20 seconds. Be careful not to massage the rice aggressively—you don't want to crack or break the grains. Allow the rice to settle for a few seconds. Tilt the pot over a sink and drain out all the water, cupping the rice with your hand to prevent it from spilling out of the pot. Repeat this process with three more changes of water. The water after the first 2 rinses will be quite cloudy; by the fourth rinse, it will be much less so. The water need not run completely clear by the final rinse—slightly cloudy is fine. Leave the rinsed rice in the pot.

2. To the rinsed rice, add the tied lemongrass, the cooking water, the coconut milk, the salt, and the daun salam leaves (if using). Stir well to combine, making sure that the lemongrass stalks and daun salam leaves are submerged in as much of the rice as possible.

3. Place the pot over high heat and, stirring constantly with a large spoon to prevent the rice at the bottom of the pot from scorching or burning, bring the liquid to a rolling, noisy boil. Allow the rice to boil vigorously for fifteen seconds, continuing to stir constantly. (It's essential that you stir constantly, otherwise the fats and proteins in the coconut milk will cause the rice at the bottom of the pot to become gummy and stick together, which will ultimately lead to the final dish having a scorched or burned bottom layer.) Immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover the pot tightly with the lid. Continue cooking for 15 minutes. Don't be tempted to lift or remove the lid during this time—you'll lose essential cooking steam if you do.

4. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the rice to continue to steam, covered, away from the heat for an additional 10 minutes.

5. Open the pot and discard the lemongrass and daun salam leaves. Fold the rice over gently with a spoon, distributing the aromatic flavors which may be concentrated in pockets in the rice. Transfer the rice to a deep serving bowl, fluffing it gently with a fork and lifting it into a high, peaked mound. Serve hot or warm. (If serving the rice warm, keep it covered with aluminum foil until then.)

Cook's Note:

Daun salam leaves are an indispensable herb in Indonesian cooking, especially in Java, Indonesia, their native place. Added fresh or dried to dishes, they impart a subtle spicy, woodsy flavor that has no counterpart in the West. When fresh, the leaves are dark green and three to four inches long. When dry, they are brittle, crinkly, and dusty, silvery green in color. Both fresh and dried leaves are used interchangeably in Indonesian kitchens.

Chinese and Southeast Asian grocery stores sell dried daun salam imported from Indonesia in small plastic bags clearly marked "Daun Salam—Indian Bay Leaves." The leaves can also be ordered from indomart.us. Fresh daun salam leaves are unavailable in North America.

New York Style Cheese Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 crumb-crust recipe, made with finely ground graham crackers
• · 5 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
• · 1 3/4 cups sugar
• · 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• · Finely grated zest of 1 orange
• · Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• · 5 large eggs
• · 2 large egg yolks
• · 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Make crumb crust as directed in separate recipe. Preheat oven to 550°F.

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour, and zests with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, then vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.

Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust (springform pan will be completely full) and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 12 minutes, or until puffed. Reduce temperature to 200°F and continue baking until cake is mostly firm (center will still be slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour more.

Run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen and cool completely in springform pan on a rack. Chill cake, loosely covered, at least 6 hours. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Crumb Crust

Ingredients:

· 1 1/2 cups (5 oz) finely ground graham crackers or cookies such as chocolate or vanilla wafers or gingersnaps

· 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

· 1/3 cup sugar

· 1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a buttered 24-centimeter springform pan. Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.

Cooks' note: Cheesecake keeps, covered and chilled, 2 weeks.

Cuban Mojito

The original authentic recipe from Havana Cuba

Ingredients:

• · 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
• · Juice from 1 lime (2 ounces)
• · 4 mint leaves
• · 1 sprig of mint
• · Havana Club white Rum (2 ounces)
• · 2 ounces club soda

Preparation:

Combine ingredients and serve.