It’s such a beautiful
sunny in LA today. I guess summer has arrived
even though its official date hasn’t started yet. Walking around in my backyard in the sun checking
out my persimmon tree full of the baby green persimmons gave me a feeling of
recharged. I just can’t wait till
October when they all will be ready for picking.
But right now let’s
talk about today’s dish. Today I made
hor mok kai or streamed chicken curry.
This
Thai dish, hor mok, is traditionally made with white fish meat that cooked and
served in a cup made from banana leaves which lending the dish a lovely aroma,
plus gives the dish an amazing presentation. Personally, I love this dish but
rarely make it at home. I’ve got to blame
on the process of making it. From finding
the banana leaves and trying to make it a cup that capable of holding the fish
curry inside is just too imitated to me.
Truth is, I have learned how to use banana leaves in cooking from my
mother when I was little, and the process of making banana cups for steamed
fish curry was no exception. Making a
cup from banana leaves take a lot of practice to make it looks perfectly round
if you are not a crafty person (+ lazy bones) like me. It’s a shame just thinking about it! Sorry mom! Thanks to the ramekins that come in handy and
useful for this purpose. I just cut
banana leaves in 2x4 inch rectangle pieces and laid two pieces of them down at
the bottom of each ramekin just to get the aroma effect from it. Easy, right? But don’t be limited by what I am saying. If you
are a crafty person, go ahead and make your own banana cups for the sake of
authentic cooking! If I have more time, I would absolutely make
them in heartbeats.
As I’ve
mentioned earlier, hor mok is traditionally made with fish. These days, however, hor mok is made possible
with mixed seafood which famously cook in a young coconut, salmon, and
pork. Honestly, I’ve never seen it’s made
with chicken! So I say, why not? Now at the bottom of each cup you will add some
vegetable such as cabbage or Thai basil leaves before filling the cup with the
curry. In my case, I used kale leaves
since I had them available on hand which I blanched them first and squeezed out
the excess water before distributed them in at the bottom of each cup.
When I told
the hubby that I would be making hor mok for dinner, he was delighted! Let’s eat!
What you
need: for 4 servings
1 lb. ground
chicken
1 cup
coconut cream, cold
3 tbsp. red
curry paste
1 egg
2 tbsp.
oyster sauce
2 tbsp. fish
sauce or soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
7-8 kaffir
lime leaves, thinly sliced
A handful
Thai basil leaves, chopped
1/4 red bell
pepper, thinly sliced
1/3 cup kale
leaves, chopped and blanched – or using cabbage
Some banana
leaves – if available
For
topping
Mix 1/4 cup
coconut milk with 1 tbsp. rice flour or cornstarch and set aside.
Thai basil
leaves
2 tbs.
thinly sliced red chili or red bell pepper
1. Blanch
the kale leaves for 5 minutes and squeeze out all the excess water, and set it
aside.
2. prepare
the ramekins by cutting banana leaves about 4 x 2 inches and lay then on the
bottom of 4/10 oz. ramekins (see picture), and set aside. *if banana leaves are not available skip this
step.
3. In a
large bowl, add ground chicken, red curry paste, egg, oyster sauce, soy sauce,
sugar, coconut milk, and then whisk to mix well for smooth texture. Add kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil leaves,
and red bell pepper into the mixture and stir to combine.
*some notes: the curry mixture has to be kept
chill so all the ingredients adhere together. If the mixture is too warm, chill
it in the refrigerator for 5 minutes before steaming.
4. Add
blanched kale leaves in the bottom of each ramekins about 1 or 2 tablespoons.
5. Fill each
ramekins with curry chicken mixture.
6. Top a spoonful
of the mixed coconut topping on each cup
7. Steam on
high heat for 18-20 minutes. When they are cooked, garnish each cup with Thai
basil leaves and red chili pepper slices.
Serve with steamed jasmine rice and enjoy!
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