Can of magic

My friend Julie, an excellent cook, gave me this can of panang curry paste a while back, along with her recipe.  What took me so long to make it?

Well, this isn't a dish I'd ordinarily attempt at home, so I was waiting for a special occasion.  I finally made it last night for a dinner with our friends George, Terri, their daughter Misty, and her little daughter, Verity.  Even the 2-year old liked it!

Julie said it was easy and now I believe her.  Flavorful, but not too spicy, panang curry with chicken or shrimp is sure to become a weeknight dinner staple around here.

Just three tablespoons of that thick, canned paste flavors the coconut milk base. Since this was a company dinner, I used a can of thick coconut cream along with the light coconut milk, making it extra rich. 

The only unusual ingredients are fish sauce (essential in Thai cooking, keeps forever in the fridge) and kaffir lime leaves.  You won't find these at Safeway, but you can buy them fresh at the Asian markets, then store in the freezer until you need them.  Another neat trick I learned from Julie during one of our food-shopping, recipe-sharing excursions.

Her recipe made a big yummy pot of chicken curry, served with brown rice.  This looks like it came from a fancy Thai restaurant.

For a side dish, cucumber, cilantro and peanut salad with a sweet-sour rice vinegar dressing.  Another Thai recipe from the Internet.  Refreshing in the summer and perfect with spicy food.


With bread from Trader Joe's...

And rum cake with whipped cream for dessert.  We had a fun evening and a nice meal that I'll look forward to making again and again.  Thanks, Julie, for nudging us into the Land of Panang Curry.