Moving back to D.C. has unfortunately meant that I am again exposed to what seems like scores and scores of sub-par Thai restaurants. However, instead of resigning myself to eating overpriced and really-not-tasty Thai, I decided to take "advantage" of this situation and try cooking Thai food at home. I spent a few days researching Thai cookcooks on the Internet, ultimately narrowing my search to vegetarian-only cookbooks. Finally, after consulting several websites including the author's, I settled on Nancie McDermott's Real Vegetarian Thai.
My first experience with McDermott's book was making the Thai Green Curry with Zucchini and Bamboo Shoots — I wanted to make something that was a little more complex than some sort of spicy stirfry-type dish (what I generally get in Thai restaurants) so I ventured a little outside of my comfort zone with by deciding to make both the curry paste and the curry itself. My thoughts on the recipe and the curry approach follow the picture of the final product over rice.
McDermott's green curry paste was actually pretty easy to assemble, especially as I had all of the ingredients on hand already except I had to substitute some pre-chopped lemongrass in a tube for using lemongrass stalks as three grocery stores in the area were out of, or didn't have, fresh lemongrass (D.C. fails me again!). I also added in a few more Thai green chili peppers to ensure it would be an especially spicy paste.
The curry itself was also fairly easy and straight-forward to make, though I ended up cooking it for maybe double the time called for in the recipe to make sure that the zucchini and other parts of the curry fully cooked to my taste. I also added in maybe an extra 1 – 2 tsps. of the curry paste to ensure that the dish was full of flavor.
The result: a little bland and boring. Ultimately, what I really learned is that I just don't like Thai curries (yes, somehow I couldn't figure out BEFORE deciding to make this dish that there is a reason why I don't order curries in Thai restaurants!). The coconut milk just seems to dilute the flavor too much of the dish, and although I could "feel" the heat in a way, I really couldn't taste and enjoy it in the dish. So it was kind of an "eh" experience, but doesn't dimish my enthusiasm for trying out the other recipes in McDermott's book — especially because it'll be easier than continuing a frustrating experience in this town to find new, solid Thai restaurant options!
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