114 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
114 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
This Article is taken from The Herbalist, newsletter of the
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Botanic Medicine Society. COPYRIGHT Dec 1988.
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Membership in the Society is $25.00 Canadian per year. You
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receive four copies of the Journal each year and help to promote
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herbalism and botanic medicine throughout Canada.
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THE SOCIETY HAS NO PAID OFFICIALS and is run entirely by
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volunteers from among the membership.
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If you would like more info please write:
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Botanic Medicine Society.
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P.O. Box 82. Stn. A.
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Willowdale, Ont. CANADA.
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M2N 5S7.
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Herbs of course are not just for medicine. They are used all over
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the world for their colours and flavours and are an indispensible
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part of a fine meal. Here's a chance, courtesy of Nettie Cronish
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(the Vegetarian Gourmet!), to try an authentic Far Eastern
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recipe. Good luck!
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Curries
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We consider curries native to India and do not realize how many
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different types there are. There seems to be many misconceptions
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about curries in general. Curry is a fashion of cooking: a
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process whereby meats, fish, vegetables or even fruit are cooked
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in varying combinations of ground herbs and spices, (known as
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curry pastes), to produce a stew like dish. All dishes that are
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hot and spicy are not curries, nor are all curries fiery hot.
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Curry powder is an amalgam of some "Indian" spices best applied
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to the flavorings of curry dips and dishes where a hint of curry
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influence is desired.
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In a Thai curry, the proportion of solids to liquid is small. As
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they are always eaten over large mounds of steamed rice, just a
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few solids suffice and the flavour of the spicy, highly flavored
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gravy is extended by the bland rice.
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Curry pastes should be a marvelous, aromatic mixture of freshly
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ground herbs and spices. When preparing a curry paste, it is
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preferable to first use a mortar and pestle with the hard fibrous
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ingredients rather than including them with other ingredients in
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a food processor or blender. The pounding of the pestle crushes
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the husks and fibers releasing the oils and juices, whereas the
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processor and blender merely cut the spices.
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For the modern kitchen cook with no time to spare, a food
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processor in conjunction with an electric spice or coffee type
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grinder can be used. This does not however eliminate the
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requirement for a mortar and pestle. For mashing moist herbs like
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lemon grass, garlic and shallots there is no substitute. However,
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the whole dried spices (chilies, cloves), give out their best
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aroma when pulverized by a good grinder. When you are preparing a
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paste, single out the hard and dried spices and pound or grind
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them first before proceeding further.
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RED CURRY PASTE.
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14 medium, dried red chilies, seeded or 1 tbs. ground red chili
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powder (cayenne).
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2 shallots, minced.
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1 tsp. caraway seeds or 1 tsp. ground caraway.
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1 tbs. whole coriander seeds or 1 tbs. ground.
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8 pieces galangal root (Laos), chopped or powdered.
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2 tbs coriander roots, minced.
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1 tsp, salt.
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1 lime peel, finely chopped.
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1 stalk lemon grass, minced.
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1 tsp. whole black peppercorns or 1 tsp. freshly ground black
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pepper.
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1/2 tsp. kaffir lime powder (pew makrut) or substitute 1 bay
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leaf.
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1 tbs. garlic, minced.
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4 tbs. vegetable oil.
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Method.
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1. Place the whole dried spices (chilies, caraway, coriander,
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galangal root and peppercorns) in an electric spice grinder or
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mortar and grind or pound to a powder. Omit this step if ground
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spices are used. Empty this powder into the food processor and
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add the remaining ingredients, including the oil, and process or
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pound to a smooth, even paste.
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Now that you've got this part together here comes the recipe for
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the meal!
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THAI FRIED CURRIED RICE Serves 6
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3 tbs. safflower oil.
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2 tbs. red curry paste.
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8 oz. broccoli, steamed.
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1 cup cauliflower, steamed.
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2 lbs. cooked long grain rice (2 cups).
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2 tbs. finely chopped shallots.
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2 red chilies, seeded and finely chopped.
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2 medium onions, finely chopped.
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1 tbs. lemon or lime juice.
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1 tbs. soya sauce.
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Method
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1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan and stir the curry
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paste for 3 minutes. Add the steamed vegetables and stir fry
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until well heated through. Add the rice, mix well and continue to
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stir fry until heated through. Transfer to a serving dish.
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2. Sprinkle shallots over the top with chilies.
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3. Sprinkle with chopped onions, lemon juice and soya sauce
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before serving.
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