Chicken in Green Curry

Chicken curry is one of my favorite dish mom would make. When I came across a recipe from a magazine that required green curry paste, I thought of giving it a shot and try something different. This version didn't require potatoes or carrots. It used bell peppers and fresh basil leaves. I thought of throwing some eggplants along the way. I didn't want it to waste and it would go well with the coconut milk.

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2 tbsps. cooking oil

2 eggplants, halved length-wise and sliced into 1" length

3 cups green beans, ends removed and halved cross-wise

1 medium onion, sliced

1 to 2 tbps. green curry paste, depending on how hot you want the dish to be

4 chicken breasts or 1 small chicken (about 800 grams), cut into pieces

1 1/2 cup coconut milk

1 to 1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup torn basil leaves

2 tbsps. dayap or lime juice

salt

Saute onion  in oil until soft. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring and scraping bottom to prevent from burning. Continue to stir paste for about 4 minutes until it darkens. Toss in the chicken and stir until the outer layer browns. Pour 1 cup of chicken broth and 1 cup coconut milk and let it simmer until the chicken is fork-tender and cooked. Add 1/2 cup of the broth and 1/2 of the remaining coconut milk if needed. Add in vegetables and let it simmer until the eggplant is cooked. Season with salt. Add basil leaves and dayap juice. Serve hot with rice. 

Ginataang Langka

Who doesn't love jackfruit? But not everyone knows that the young fruit can be cooked and served as one of the main dishes. We prepared this with coconut milk and finger chillies. In the photo, paired this with pan-fried pork loin and hot rice.

300 grams young jackfruit, sliced, boiled until tender

coconut extract of 2 coconuts (separate the first and second extractions)

1 medium red onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, sliced

3 finger chillies (siling haba)

salt or fish sauce to taste

2 tbsps. cooking oil

Saute garlic and onions in medium heat until lightly transparent. Add the young jackfruit and stir for about 4 to 5 minutes. Pour in the second extraction of the coconut milk and season with salt or fish sauce. Let it simmer until the liquid has reduced in half. Add the first extract and let simmer until the sauce thickens.

Requesting Shrimps

Mom was heading back from visiting my brother. A few days before her departure, I was able to talk with her and told her that I received a very good pumpkin from my aunt. It was sweet and starchy that had a creamy, sweet consistency when cooked. She requested if I could cook the pumpkin with shrimps and coconut milk.

We call it Ginataang Hipon at Kalabasa. There are many variations depending on the household with regards to how they prepare this dish.I have known others to mash the pumpkin to make the stew thicker while others just let the pumpkin break up on its own. I know some prefer theirs with a thin

This will be my first attempt to prepare the dish the way she does it. I hope I pass :)

Ginataang Hipon at Kalabasa

Salt
300-400 grams shrimps
1 tablespoon oil
1 thumb size ginger, peeled, sliced into disks
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 medium sized onion, sliced
4 cups pumpkin, peeled, seeded and sliced into ½ inch cubes
1 cup eggplant, sliced into ½ inch length, quartered
1 ½ cup coconut milk, 2nd extraction
1 cup coconut cream or milk, 1st extraction
1 tablespoon fish sauce
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1-2 pieces finger chilies (siling pang sigang)
1 bunch swamp cabbage (kangkong) leaves, approximately 1 to 1 ½ cup

Remove the whiskers from the shrimps. Season it with salt. Do not season too much else it will end up too salty. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a casserole in medium heat and sauté ginger, garlic and onion. When the onions are almost translucent and the garlic is tender, add in the pumpkin then the eggplant. Saute the vegetables well. Pour in the 2nd extraction into the casserole and lower the heat. Season the pumpkin with ½ tablespoon fish sauce and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper.

When the pumpkin and eggplant is half cooked add in the shrimp. Stir for a few seconds and cover. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add in the 1st extraction and simmer for 2 minutes. Drop in the finger chilies. Adjust the taste by adding remaining fish sauce and black pepper. Continue cooking until you get the desired consistency of the sauce. Add the swamp cabbage then stir once. Turn off heat. You don’t need to worry with the swamp cabbage because the remaining heat will continue to let it cook.

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I asked my mom when she had it for dinner yesterday. I passed with flying colors. :D