Red curry butternut squash and kale stew

A riff on the original recipe with lots of substitutions and Instant Pot tweaks...

Red curry butternut squash and kale stew

Yield: 12 servings (freezes well)

Ingredients

12 servings

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes

2 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 can Thai red curry paste

1/2 a head of garlic, minced

3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated (about 2 tablespoons) [this did not make it into my grocery shop but I would add it next time]

2 tablespoons ground turmeric

8 oz (1/2 bag) of split peas, rinsed

4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock (I used chicken since that's what I had on hand)

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

2 (13-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk

16-ounce bag shredded kale

Fresh cilantro leaves, for serving

Cooked rice, for serving

Toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, for serving (optional)

Method

1. In the Instant Pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on the sauté setting. Add onions and garlic and cook until translucent, about 4-5 minutes. 
2. Add the curry paste, ginger, and turmeric, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add the butternut squash, coconut milk, stock and split peas. Put the lid on the Instant Pot and cook for 30 minutes at pressure.
4. Release pressure and add kale to Instant Pot. Replace lid and cook for 15 minutes at pressure.
5. Divide among shallow bowls with a scoop of steamed rice and top with cilantro and coconut flakes, if using.

Smoking Goat

7 Denmark Street
London 
WC2H 8LZ

So the food experts of London have been raving about Smoking Goat, talking about the ridiculous queues and the incredible platters of grilled meat. P and I perked up our ears and made plans to visit on a Monday night - we went early, around 6pm, and it was a bit rainy, and there were plenty of tables. I don't think the place was ever full during the entire 2.5 hours we were there, so maybe the craziness has died down. We ordered a couple of beers and the fish sauce chicken wings, which were so delicious that we got a second order of them. The coal roasted aubergine dish was really smoky and lovely as well - I think I am growing fonder and fonder of aubergine. Then we decided on the lamb ribs, which came with sticky rice and a green papaya salad. I liked it all, but the chicken wings were my favorite. I'd love to go back with more people and really get into the duck and pork belly options as well - even though P and I are greedy we just couldn't fit in any more food.

Duke of Cornwall

 

48 Fulham Palace Road

London W6 9PH

 

S and I met up with some of her friends before a gig at the Hammersmith Apollo (this guy, if you're curious). While wandering the area looking for a place to have a drink and a bite to eat, we stumbled across the Duke of Cornwall. Its menu is not that promising - the pictures of the food are terrible and we were all a bit concerned, but when you're hungry and pressed for time you're willing to take a chance. Turns out, we're all happy we did - my pad thai (boring, I know) was actually delicious, if a little on the sweet side - it came with proper crushed peanut and chilli garnishes and was an absolutely enormous portion for under £7. We scarfed our food, along with some wine, and then hopped across the road for a wonderful evening of music.

The Thai Orchid

21 High St  
Falmouth 
TR11 2AB

T requested Thai food for our last evening in Falmouth - having passed by The Thai Orchid on numerous trips into Falmouth we decided to give it a try. The decor is memorable - tables are bedecked with candles and benches are covered with colorful pillows - it certainly didn't feel like we were in Falmouth. And the food was decent, if not particularly memorable - I had a seafood dish with Thai basil and it tasted exactly like I expected, if a little sweet. So if you have a Thai craving and happen to be in Falmouth, I'd give this a try, but I wouldn't travel long distance for it.

Rosa's

48 Dean Street
London
W1D 5BF

Rosa's started with a branch in Spitalfields and has now expanded to Soho. J, M, A and I were meeting up for dinner before seeing Josie Long at the Soho Theatre, and our original plans were to go for Vietnamese across the street, but Rosa's looked so warm and inviting that we spontaneously seized the moment and went there instead. We shared some Thai calamari and poo nim thai herb (deep fried soft shell crab) to start - both were well fried, crisp but not greasy, and got us ready for our mains. I chose a bizarre dish just because it sounded rather intriguing - Spaghetti Khee Maow Ta Lae (stir-fried spaghetti with seafood, chilli, garlic and basil). It was lovely - spicy flavors balanced nicely against savoury seafood-infused spaghetti - and it makes me think I can use spaghetti at home for more than Italian food. A enjoyed his pad thai, and J and M seemed to like what they ordered as well, so all in all, a success. If I was looking for Thai in Soho, I'd go here again.

Tom Yum Soup

A asked for me to try making Tom Yum Soup again (I made it a year ago but forgot to write down what I did, so had to try and cobble together a recipe again using the internet). I think it came out pretty well - I feel like the secret to this soup is to keep tasting and adjusting until you get the balance of sweet, sour, salty and hot that you want. So the recipe below is mostly a guideline rather than absolute measures.

Tom Yum Soup

Ingredients
4 cups stock (I had some pork bone stock, but chicken should be fine too)
3 sticks of freeze dried lemongrass (fresh would be better, I think)
1 large clove of garlic, minced
2 or 3 limes, halved
2 or 3 bird's eye chillies
3 tbsp fish sauce (and more to taste)
1 tbsp sugar
12 raw king prawns
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, sliced thinly
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
250g package of baby corn, cut into small pieces
handful of coriander, minced

Method

Bring stock to a simmer. Add lemongrass, garlic, 2 chillies and fish sauce. Squeeze lime juice into pan (start with two limes, then add more to taste if you want it more sour). Add sugar and taste again - if the broth needs to be more salty, add more fish sauce, if it needs more sweetness, add more sugar, if it isn't spicy enough, add more chillies. Add bell pepper, tomatoes and baby corn and cook for 20 minutes. Taste the soup again for balance of flavors and adjust appropriately. Add chicken and cook for 10 more minutes. Add prawns, cook until all prawns have turned pink, and take off the heat. Ladle into bowls and top with coriander.

Thai Metro

38 Charlotte Street
London, W1T 2NN

Back to our regularly scheduled Wednesday lunches! J and I were both craving something warm and since we already tried Siam Central, we decided to try the other Thai in the area, Thai Metro. It's a very similar menu - two courses for 7.50 - and I got the fried chicken wings again for a starter, though I decided on a ginger stir fry with pork for a main rather than my usual chilli and basil dish. J had fish cakes to start and got the chilli and basil with chicken. While everything was good, there's something about this place that makes me prefer Siam Central - maybe it's the spacing of the tables or the atmosphere? I might be unfair, saying I prefer one even though the food seems about the same, but I can't change how I feel...

Dim t

32 Charlotte St
London, W1T

Thank goodness for Wednesday lunches with J or else I might not have much to blog about these days! Dim t is a chain of Asian restaurants - there's dim sum, noodle dishes, rice dishes and salads, and it seems to go from Chinese to Malaysian to Thai, so let's just call it pan-Asian. We went with their "Dine under 10" special which is a starter and a main for 9.95. To start with, I got the chicken satay and J got the chicken and asian greens steamed dumplings. I really liked the satay - nicely grilled, crispy chicken with a great savory satay sauce with a tiny bit of heat to give it a tiny kick. Thought the dumplings were ok (but would prefer my own potstickers, or better yet, my mom's...) I ordered the tom yum soup noodles with salmon which was deliciously lemongrassy and packed with bok choy, bean sprouts, red peppers, red onions and slippery wide flat rice noodles. That is probably way too much food for lunch but I was certainly full enough to skip dinner later that night. J had the Malaysian butternut squash curry which looked good (and I think she enjoyed). Nothing inspirational here but it's certainly a solid Asian restaurant.

Sir Richard Steele Pub

97 Haverstock Hill

London

NW3 4RL

Was in W's neighborhood since there was a plan to see The September Issue at the cinema after dinner, so obviously we had to pick a dinner place. We met up with F&C at this pub, which serves Thai food (and some very expensive pints of Hoegaarden!) I got the basil fried rice with pork, W had Thai green curry with chicken, and F ordered chicken satay and pad thai with chicken. Thumbs up all around, though I would have preferred for the onion in my fried rice to be more cooked as I really can't stand raw onion. Due to some rather strange wall decorations at the pub, we started talking about this crazy taxidermy shop in Islington, Get Stuffed - if you're ever walking down Essex Road, check it out. Also, I highly recommend the Everyman Belsize Park - while the movie tickets are on the pricey side, you do get luxurious seats with little pillows and back rests that recline, and you can also order drinks and food at your seat. Anyway - good pub, good company, and good movie afterwards makes for an excellent evening.

Siam Central

14 Charlotte Street

London

W1T 2LX

Apparently this place is popular with J's coworkers, and I can see why! Excellent lunch prices - one course for 5.50, two for 7.50 and three for 9.50 - plus from the size of the two courses I had, they certainly don't skimp on ingredients. Started with crispy chicken wings which I really liked - they're served with sweet chili sauce (which I don't like but I just didn't use it). J had the fish cakes which she said were ok but a little on the greasy side. I ordered the chilli and basil stir fry with pork as a main, and it was massive! Really really spicy, but with great fresh basil flavor, and the green beans and sugar snap peas were cooked perfectly - tender but still crisp. J's aubergine and chilli dish was also very good - I tried a piece of her aubergine and it was a bit milder than my dish but cooked really well. They call this the express lunch menu, and that is an accurate description - we were in and out of there in under an hour. I see the reviews here are pretty good so lunch was not a fluke - I would definitely go back again.