Feeding Umi

Kris suggested that we come over and Ryan make his famous green curry. It’s surprising how many people struggle with it, when all it is is fish sauce flavoring and palm sugar. That’s it. That’s the secret. Anyway, it was a great opportunity to see the latest addition. Little Lulu! Kris saved her from a local pipe outside of a hospital. She was a tiny thing mewling, he took her home and cleaned her up. I think she’s taken up residence here ever since.

She’s a bit shy, but really playful. She was a sweetheart and the boys cooed over her. Of course, this gave Ryan the opening to mention what a hellion my cat was. Well, I didn’t say this right then and there, but since I am a bitch, I will say it here. Kittens are cute. They are also quite harmless. My cat was a quiet kitten that ate, played, and slept. He slept with me at night and was an angel. This all changed once kitty adolescence hits. I think my cat’s issue was that he had too much energy for us. Either way, he quickly learned that nipping my mother’s ankles was a prime way of getting her to chase him. He trained my family well.

Not saying that Lulu will be a hellion, but you need to instill good habits in them now. I digress. And WE DID NOT EAT THE CAT. Mwa ha ha… err. Perhaps I should do a feature where I display the animals alive, then go through the steps of cooking, and TADA! Dead chicken! Anyway.

• 3 cans of coconut milk
• chopped green and red peppers
• can of bamboo shoots
• chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
• green curry paste
• palm sugar (brown sugar is an okay substitute, try to find palm sugar, though – available at wholefoods)
• fish sauce

Making green curry is EXTREMELY easy. EASY PEASY. Seriously. Now, if you were to go around shaving coconuts and squeezing out the milk, which Sophea’s mother does, that gets to be a bit labor intensive. Also, if you mix your spices, that gets to be a bit labor intensive, too. Still, for the regular folks out there that is fine with mixing his own paste with green curry mix and coconut milk, here it is!

Saute the peppers so that they retain their color, once thrown into the pot. You can toss them in the frying pan right before they start to get tender. Get a large saucepan and pour 2-3 cans of coconut milk. You should note that we used 3 cans of coconut milk to feed 4-5 people who had seconds. When Ryan and I make it, we usually make 2 cans, though. Spoon out 4 tablespoons of curry, mix, allow to boil, simmer for 5 minutes and add the chicken and allow to come to a boil. Add the peppers and bamboo shoots and allow to simmer for around 45 mins to an hour. To finish, taste the curry, and note the lack of taste. Add in around a tablespoon of palm sugar and fish sauce. Taste. Adjust taste to your liking by adding additional green curry, fish sauce, or palm sugar. The green curry adds fragrance. The fish sauce is the main taste/salt component. The sugar balances out the saltiness. We usually add an extra tablespoon of green curry and an extra tablespoon of fish sauce to taste. Simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes and you’re done!

Couple this with some custom home-made brewed beer, and it’s heaven! (Kris brews beer at home. Yes. And the IPAs are fucking delicious.)

For dessert, we were treated to Kris’s creme caramel. (We got into this discussion of the difference between flan and creme caramel. Kris claimed that they were not the same. There really isn’t any difference, I think, except the context of what is served. You can call it Leche Flan, Creme Caramel, or Custard Caramel Pudding, like the Japanese.) It was yummy, creamy, and decadent. Kris’s roommate cut us up some really sweet mango.