Fun with Asian curries

[hzrt8w]

Most of us know that curry is a mix of spices, primarily cumin, corriander, tumeric, giner and chili powder. It originates from India and spreaded all around Asian countries. Yet the curry recipes in every country is a bit different.

Curry in India: very aromatic, rich, with many variations of spice blending.

Vietnamese likes to put in lemon grass, fried shallots, coconut milk and a squeeze of lime in the curry.

Thai curries are broadly divided into red, green and yellow curry. Red curry being sweet and hot, and thick. (From the galangal?) Both red and yellow curries have rich coconut flavor. Most of the Thai yellow curry I had were cooked with bamboo shoots, and green curry with Thai eggplants.

Malaysian/Indonasian curries: very rich in coconut milk and ginger flavor. And they add shrimp paste to curries.

Japanese curry: I haven't figured it out yet. It has its own class. So rich, so thick, nothing like the southern Asian style. Most of the time I bought the Japanese curry paste from the Asian grocery store, and just add water to dissolve/dilute the past, add meat/potatoes/carrots/peas and it's done.

Chinese curry: I am not really sure if there is such a thing... Sure, curry dishes are offered in most restaurants in Hong Kong, but I don't recall seeing it on the menu while travelling in Mainland China. Perhaps those who travels to China often can enlighten us of your experience eating curry in China.

2 nights ago, I just cooked curry chicken and I don't know what style it is... but I like the outcome...

A whole chicken (about 4 lb)... cut up in big pieces. 5 medium size potatoes. 1.5 onions.

5 shallots, thinny sliced, cook with a bit of oil, slow heat, to dark brown. Remove.

5 potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 inch cubes or so, brown over medium heat with a bit of oil and salt. Remove.

Chicken pieces... brown over medium heat with salt and black pepper, about 10 minutes. Remove.

Now the main curry sauce: In a pot, heat up 3 tblsp cooking oil, put in finely chopped shallots (2-3), freshly grated ginger (3 inch in length), finely chopped garlic (5-6 cloves), 2 tblsp sa cha sauce, 2 tblsp Thai basil paste, 2 tblsp Thai Tom Yum paste (the one used to make Tom Yum Goon soup), 1-2 tsp of shrimp paste, finely chopped lemon grass (about 3 to 4 inch in length), then put in the 1.5 onion (wedged), 2 tsp vinegar, salt (to taste) and some red pepper (to taste), 3 tblsp of curry powder, 1 can of chicken broth, 1 cup of water, 1/2 can of coconut milk. Bring the mixture to a boil. Stir occassionally. Once boiling, re-add the chicken and potatoes. Cook over medium heat for another 10 minutes. At last, re-add the browned shallots and squeeze in the juice from 1 lime. Ready.

Serve 4 to 6 people.

Edited January 10, 2005 by hzrt8w (log)

[Dejah]

What were you trying to do, hzrt!? Incorporating all the variations into a new curry?

What colour did it turn out to be? And, did the two of you eat it all?

Looked like a lot of work but I bet it smelled and tasted great!

[Ben Hong]

To Indians and other South Asian people the word "curry" means a style of cooking or a whole range of generic cooking. To us it's more limited in meaning to a dish or the mixture of spices, ie: curry powder. Pre packaged "curry" powder would not be used by any self-respecting housewife or cook in traditional Indian cooking. She would grind and mix her own spices to make "garam masala", according to her family formula for any particular dish. Most times the garam masala is mixed just prior to cooking. Hence, a properly prepared Indian dish is as good to the olfactory senses as it is to the gustatory.

Having said that, my favourite curry powder is the Malaysian packaged stuff. Like all dry spice mixes, you must cook it in a little oil before use, to release the aromas and make it less "gritty".

[patchouli]

Yes, there is such thing as Chinese curries - in Malaysia that is. The so-called Straits Chinese or Peranakan community do make great curries - which is an interesting amalgamation of Chinese and Malay dishes. Their delicious spicy curry dishes (such as Coriander Chicken and Red Cooked Chicken) can be eaten with plain hot steaming Jasmin rice rice wherelse others such as Nyonya-style Curry Mee (Noodles) is served with yellow or thin rice noodles.

[Yuki]

There are many types of curry available in Asia but in Hong Kong, I think most people grew up with the yellow curry that is not very spicy. Below are the pictures of the two curry product I brought in Macau and Canada but they are made in Macau and Singapore.

The curry on the left is made in Macau(I think it is only available in one store) and the other one is the kind that I grew up eating. The left kind is a curry block and requires seasoning(soya sauce, oyster sauce, and what not) when placed into some liquid. The right kind is in powder form and usually just need a bit of salt, sugar and coconut milk(or without coconut milk is okay too). This is the only kind of curry that my grandma makes and frankly, I am really sick of it. So now, in my cupboard and fridge, there is at least 7 different kind of curry product a once. The usual is 1-2 kind of Japanese curry, 2-3 kind of Thai curry, a couple Chinese ones, and then some odd ones. I usually perfer Thai curry due to the liquidy broth and freshness.

[Ben Hong]

Yep, the Malaysian Curry Powder on the right is our favourite.

[ecr]

The range of Thai curries is a bit broader than just "red, green, yellow". There are dry curries (eg. Penang) and wet curries, coconut milk-based curries and those without coco milk. There are sweet (ie. not spicy), spicy, and spicy/sour curries. There are orange curries as well as yellow, green, and red. One generalization that it's possible to make is that green curries are usually not hot (when Thais say "gaeng kiaow waan" -- literally, sweet green curry -- they don't mean that the curry is necessarily sweet as Westerners understand it, but that it is not spicy), and they usually include coconut milk. But there are red curries both spicy and "sweet" and with and without coconut milk, same for yellow curries, and "orange" curry (gaeng som), which has no coconut milk, is almost always incendiary.

Gaeng bpaa (jungle or forest curry) is a thin, soupy red curry, very spicy, with no coconut milk.

[hzrt8w]

What were you trying to do, hzrt!?  Incorporating all the variations into a new curry?   

What colour did it turn out to be?  And, did the two of you eat it all?

←

I always like morphing to come up with new recipes. This curry dish is one of those. If people didn't experiment to create new ways to cook, you wouldn't have many regional food as you know them today. There aren't that many new things under the sun...

The color turned out to be dark yellow, close to light brown, just as a curry should be. It tastes very good. My wife thought it was a bit hot, but she delightfully finished her entire serving. One whole chicken, of course, is too much for the two of us in one meal. We ate 1/3 the first night. Another 1/3 tonight. Another 1/3 to be taken as lunch. But I don't want to tempt my coworkers.

Curry is not to be thought as quick and easy. Except Japanese curry, perhaps. That can be done quickly.

[hzrt8w]

To Indians and other South Asian people the word "curry" means a style of cooking or a whole range of generic cooking. To us it's more limited in meaning to a dish or the mixture of spices, ie: curry powder. Pre packaged "curry" powder would not be used by any self-respecting housewife or cook in traditional Indian cooking. She would grind and mix her own spices to make "garam masala", according to her family formula for any particular dish. Most times the garam masala is mixed just prior to cooking. Hence, a properly prepared Indian dish is as good to the olfactory senses as it is to the gustatory.

←

I learned that trick from TV shows and some Indian friends too. Roast your spice before cooking. Then use a spice grinder (or coffee grinder) to grind the spice to almost powder form, then use them for cooking curry.

I guess curry to Indians is as Lo Shui to Chinese. Like you said, every family has it's own hand-down recipe.

[hzrt8w]

Having said that, my favourite curry powder is the Malaysian packaged stuff. Like all dry spice mixes, you must cook it in a little oil before use, to release the aromas and make it less "gritty".

←

I found that cooking curry powder in oil makes it bitter. You either do this very quickly, or do it indirectly (use oil to sautee onion/garlic/shallots, then sprinkle on the curry powder.

[hzrt8w]

There are many types of curry available in Asia but in Hong Kong, I think most people grew up with the yellow curry that is not very spicy. Below are the pictures of the two curry product I brought in Macau and Canada but they are made in Macau and Singapore.

←

I found that curry powder by themself is not very spicy even if it contains cayenne powder. You need to add a fair amount of salt and some acidity (vinegar or lime/lemon juice) to bring out the hotness.

The curry powder mix from Hong Kong or Macau usually are simple mix. You can come pretty close to it by mixing equal portion of cumin, corriander, tumeric and cayenne powder.

[jo-mel]

According to E.N.Anderson, Chinese settlements in Malaysia - about 500 years ago may have been a source of the beginnings of Chinese/Malaysian fusion cooking. I guess the origins of Nonya cooking. (As patchouli referred to)

The very first thing that came to my mind was Singapore Noodles with the addition of both curry and soy sauce. A great taste combo, but most recipes don't seem to have soy.

I used to buy a great curry paste that was red/yellow in color and quite spicy. But the store went out of business and I was never able to find it again --- or a good substitute. And I CAN'T remember the brand!!! I've tried others and they are just OK.