The Todd Rundgren Butternut Squash Coconut Curry
This recipe is straying from the recipe I used on This Band Could Be Your Food’s Todd Rundgren episode because
A) Coconut curry should always have fish sauce in it, and
B) I neglected to add Butternut Squash. I NEVER make coconut curry without adding butternut squash.
One of the main ingredients of this dish is Red or Green curry paste. If you want to make it yourself, bravo to you, but do it right. You need to get a mortar and pestle if you don’t have one.
Red Curry Paste Recipe
8 red Thai chillies- Click the link for more information on choosing peppers.
1teaspoon white pepper, (or 3 teaspoons of white peppercorns)
1 teaspoon cumin
15 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon of minced lemongrass
1 minced shallot
1 finger of minced galangal- Thai ginger
zest of of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fish sauce
Place your peppers in a seperate bowl of water for 15 minutes to hydrate them. If you are using peppercorns, crush them together with the cumin and set aside in separate bowl to be added later. Next, mince up your peppers into smaller pieces, (about 1/4 inch size pieces), and place inside your mortar with the salt. Crush together for 5-10 minutes to let the oils of the pepper release. Once it starts to smell good, chop up the rest of your ingredients, (garlic, lemongrass, shallot, galangal and lime peel). The smaller you chop, the easier your job will be crushing it all together in the mortar. Add to mortar and crush.This should take another 15-20 minutes. Once it is all feeling nice and mushed, add the pepper, cumin and fish sauce and blend together.
Alternatively, you can buy some Red or Green Curry Paste.
Now to the good stuff.
Butternut Squash Coconut Cury Ingredients
1 14-oz can coconut milk
3 Tablespoons curry paste
1-2 Tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 medium onion- chopped
1 small butternut squash- skinned, 1 inch cubes
If you want to go hardcore, add 1 chopped lemongrass (1-2 inch sized pieces), a chopped finger of galangal, (Thai ginger), and 3-4 lime leaves.
1 chopped red or yellow pepper
1 zucchini- chopped into 1/2-1 inch sized cubes
1 lb protein- firm tofu, shrimp or chicken are my favorites
1/2 C minced cilantro
Juice of one lime
If you are using chicken, chop into bite-size pieces and sauté in a hot pan with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil until fully cooked (15-20 minutes). Set aside.
Chop up onion and sauté in a deep fry pan until slightly translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add chunks of butternut squash with the curry paste and sauté for another 5-7 minutes. If you want to add mushrooms, carrots or cauliflower, add to the pan right after you’ve added the butternut squash. These veggies take longer to cook, so it is good to get them in the pan and cooking. Once you can smell the aromas of the curry paste, add the can of coconut milk. Stir to get everything mixed well. After 5 minutes, add 1-2 Tablespoons of fish sauce and a little brown sugar. You can add your chunks of lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves here, but this is optional. It adds a lot of aromas and character to your dish, but these ingredients usually have to be purchased at a specially Thai grocery store. If you don’t have them, just add an additional Tablespoon of curry paste to your pan.
As soon as you have your red or orange pepper chopped, add it in. Vegetables all take different amounts of time to cook, so you should add them when it is their turn.
Let it cook for 10 minutes and then add your zucchini and protein. If you’re using shrimp, the less you cook it, the better it will be. The metric of whether the dish is done rests on the doneness of the squash. You want it to be tender enough to eat, but not overdone to the point that it breaks down. Your fork should penetrate it easily. If not, cook for 5 more minutes and try again. Once your squash is perfect, add your chopped cilantro and serve with Jasmin rice. Don’t eat the lemongrass or lime leaves. You’ll know why if you try to. Have a great lunch and listen to This Band Could Be Your Food!
