So last October I went to Portland and got to experience the best food, the best city, the best Thai food there. I seriously fell in love with Portland and I cannot wait to go back! There were a ton of ethnic foods, especially Southeast Asian foods- tons of Thai restaurants (expensive and cheap) and Thai food trucks, Indonesian, and Singaporean. It really is a hub of cultures and truly beats SF in terms of the ‘foodie’ capital. No kidding. You have to go visit yourself!!! Anyway, I normally don’t like Thai curry and never get it at restaurants because I have an innate disgust with anything coconut. I always get the pad thai or pad kee mao or tom yum – who’s with me here? Well, in Portland, my life changed when I was craving something warm and creamy (it was raining and cold that night) and my friend told me to order the Red Curry at the Thai restaurant (E-San Thai in Downtown Portland). Feeling adventurous in a new city, I decided to order it against my good old judgment and it TURNED OUT AMAZING! I couldn’t believe it – it was so mind blowingly delicious. Maybe it was the restaurant, but it was so amazing I could cry. Anyway, here I am months later, I still don’t eat anything coconut related, infused, or touched, but I do find myself craving Red Curry. Here is a super easy recipe and pretty delicious too!

Ingredients

1 13-15oz can of coconut milk
1/3 cup chicken broth
3 tbsp red curry paste

1 tbsp tomato paste
3 slices of ginger
1 bay leaf
1 basil leaf
1/4 onion, sliced
1 cup bamboo shoots
1 tomato, sliced in big chunks
4-5 thai green eggplant, sliced in quarters (or you can use 1/2 of a Chinese purple eggplant)
1 small red pepper, sliced in strips
1 cup shrimp, or chicken, or pork, or tofu

1. In a pot, heat the coconut milk, chicken broth, red curry paste, tomato paste, bay leaf, basil, and ginger until a light boil. Make sure you stir to mix in the paste!

2. Throw all the veggies and shrimp (or meat) in the pot and let simmer for 20 min, or until the eggplant has softened. If you are using meat, you can pan fry the meat prior to adding it into the curry.

3. Serve with rice!