Bangladeshi Chicken and Potato Curry

Whelp, my year started with a Bangladeshi meal, so I'd say I'm a fan of 2018 thus far. This meal comes from the Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook: Artisinal Baking from Around the World, one of the newest arrivals to my cookbook library. It was through this episode of the A Couple Cooks podcast that I first learned of Hot Bread Kitchen, a bakery and training program in NYC that employs and trains immigrant and minority women to succeed in the professional food business. Through the program, these women gain marketable, employable skills and experience, in addition to training in English, kitchen math, and science. Everything on their menu comes from the home countries of the employees and graduates of Hot Bread Kitchen.

This cookbook features many of the breads of Hot Bread Kitchen, as well as things to eat or drink with said breads. Most recipes include a story behind the dish or the culture from which it comes, and sprinkled throughout the cookbook are spotlights of several Hot Bread Kitchen women. And these recipes come from all over the world, so in the span of a few pages you go from Ethiopia to Iran to India to Italy--and that's just in the leavened flatbreads chapter!

Hailing from the kitchen of a woman named Lutfunnessa, who taught political science in Bangladesh before moving to New York in the 90s, this curry recipe lands in the first chapter of the book, so it caught my attention early. Even after reading most of the rest of the book, when I thought about what I wanted to make first from the HBK Cookbook, my mind kept drifting back to the Bangladeshi curry and Bangladeshi flatbread (whole wheat chapatis). Besides, the paragraph at the top of the recipe says it's "perfect on a cold night"--and since it seems the entire U.S. is frozen right now, this curry was the perfect way to ring in the new year.

I served mine with the aforementioned whole wheat chapatis, which are also included in the cookbook, but you can definitely serve it with rice instead. The recipe is written with beef instead of chicken but, with the blessing of the paragraph at the top of the recipe, I used chicken thighs instead. This is a fairly simple dish to make, but it does require some time to simmer.

Bangladeshi Chicken and Potato Curry
Adapted slightly from Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook (p. 38)
Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients
3 Tbsp. canola oil
1 to 1-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
1 small yellow onion (or half of 1 large), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/8 tsp. cayenne (1/4 tsp. for more heat)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1-1/2 cups water
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed (approx 1-inch cubes)
Handful of cilantro, chopped
Cooked basmati rice or whole wheat chapatis (flatbread), for serving

Directions
In a medium to large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then add to the pot. Cook until the chicken is browned, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken to a plate.

Turn your burner down to medium and add the onion, garlic, ginger, and cayenne to the pot. If needed, add a splash of water to loosen any browned bits left behind by the chicken--there's great flavor there! Cook for another 10 minutes or so, until the onions are softened and starting to brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in a bit more salt while the onions cook. Add the remaining spices--cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and cardamom--and stir for just a minute, to release the spices' fragrance.

Pour the water into the pot and add the chicken back in. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about an hour. Check it every so often to give it a stir and add more water if it's getting dry (I checked every 20 minutes and never needed more water).

Now add the potatoes to the pot and keep on simmering (covered) for 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are nice and tender. Mine were very soft after 30 minutes. Again, stir every so often, and add water if needed. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Sprinkle with cilantro, and serve with rice or chapatis.

2017 Food Goals: Global Edition

If you've followed my blog for a while, you may recall that for several years I've set food goals for myself at the beginning of each year (but skipped 2016). The goals usually involved trying a new ingredient (like tomatillos or lavender) or dish (like panna cotta or stovetop popcorn). This year I'm challenging myself to cook more foods from other countries and cultures.

I want to be neither too restrictive nor too loosey-goosey with myself, so here are some basic parameters:

• Try a new country/cuisine at least once a month.
• Aim for countries whose cuisines I'm less familiar with. This means Italian, Mexican, Greek, and Chinese are out. Probably French, German, and Irish as well. 
• Try to hop around from continent to continent. For instance, try something from Belize one month, Tunisia the next, Cambodia the next, Ukraine next, and so on. 
• Invite friends over to share at least some of the meals with me, but don't get stuck on that. Sometimes it's more feasible to make pomegranate molasses chicken for myself on a random weeknight than to spend a weekend cooking up a feast and roping some friends into helping me eat it.

Speaking of pomegranate molasses chicken with bulgar wheat salad ... that happened last night.

Finally, let me leave you with some resources I'm sure I'll be using throughout the year.

• Honey and Co. by Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer - This cookbook is chock full of Middle Eastern recipes, personal anecdotes, and good humor. (For instance, the recipe for Mushroom and Cumin Sfiha ends with "Do not offer your guests seconds--squirrel away any that is left over for the next day; it'll still be delicious.") The book was entertaining to read, and I could easily spend the year cooking through this cookbook alone.
• Global Kitchen by Cooking Light and David Joachim - This one covers a smattering of dishes from regions throughout the world, so it'll be a good launching point for my little challenge to myself. Most recipes include a few sentences about the dish, the culture from which it hails, and/or a word about traditional techniques or modern tweaks.
• Wild Spice by Arun Kapil - This book may be a little harder to use exclusively for my 12 countries in 12 months challenge because many of the recipes don't include information about the country or region that birthed it. Nevertheless, his recipes draw on spices and ingredients from around the world, so I'm still optimistic it has a place in my cooking repertoire this year, even if not specifically as part of my 12 in 12 challenge.
• globaltableadventure.com by Sasha Martin - She challenged herself to cook something from every country in the world, and her site now holds over 650 recipes resulting from that challenge. Check out her Map Room page; click on a country and find all her posts and recipes from that country. She also has a page with a roundup of holidays from around the world, with recipes to go with them. Impressive! I'm trying to keep myself from exploring this site too much lest I paralyze myself with the sheer magnitude of options available. 

Cambodian Curry - and Green Mango Cafe Cookbook

Within the last year or so, I began following the blog A Couple Cooks. Not only do I want to eat nearly every recipe that Sonja and Alex share, but I also appreciate their focus on global issues--particularly women in poverty or abusive situations.

They're invovled with an organization called Center for Global Impact, which founded a culinary training program and restaurant/bakery in Cambodia, which trains at-risk women in the culinary industry, equipping them to earn a living without having to sell their bodies or compromise their well-being. Cool, huh?

So Alex and Sonja visited the Green Mango Cafe and Bakery and have created a cookbook with many recipes from the cafe. My parents gave me the cookbook for Christmas, and I am loving it! Not only does it include a variety of cuisines (Cambodian, French, Italian, American, and Mexican), but they also do a great job of introducing unfamiliar ingredients--like galangal, lemongrass, and rice paper--in an approachable, non-scary way. And all the proceeds go to CGI's programs for at-risk women.

I think it's cool that, even though Sonja and Alex aren't necessarily gifted at founding programs like the Green Mango Cafe--or even moving across the world to work at one--they are gifted in photography and food, and they do have a voice and an audience through their blog. I appreciate that they're using the gifts and resources they have to support these women in Cambodia.

I must sheepishly confess that, though my parents gave me the Green Mango Cafe cookbook for Christmas (as in almost six months ago!), and though I instantly wanted to make the vast majority of the recipes inside, I only just recently made my first recipe from the cookbook, a delicious Cambodian curry.

This curry involved some new ingredients for me--canned bamboo shoots, yellow curry paste, and fish sauce--as well as some I wasn't able to find--kaffir lime leaves and fresh lemongrass. The recipe felt a little time-consuming, mostly because of all the different ingredients that need to be prepped and ready to go before you start cooking. But the end results was this amazing dish with layer upon layer of flavor. Absolutely worth the effort! Mine didn't come out as soupy/saucy-looking as the picture in the cookbook, so I'll probably add a bit more broth and coconut milk next time.

Cambodian Curry

Adapted slightly from Green Mango Cafe and Bakery: Cooking for a Better Tomorrow
Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients
1 lb. chopped chicken, shrimp, beef, or tofu
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil (divided)
3 cloves garlic, minced
15-oz. can bamboo shoots, drained, rinsed, and finely chopped
1 sweet potato or cassava, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 small white onion, diced
3 kaffir lime leaves
2 lemongrass stalks
1/2 bird's eye chili, thinly sliced (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon curry powder or Thai red curry paste (see note below)
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
2-1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 Tbsp. fish sauce (or soy sauce)
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. kosher salt (or to taste)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup fresh Thai basil, chopped
Cooked rice or coconut rice (for serving)

Directions
If using tofu, drain it, then place on a plate covered with a paper towel. Cover it with another towel, then squeeze gently to drain excess liquid.

Prep all the vegetables and meat. Get all your ingredients ready to go. Heat oil in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat.

• Saute the meat (or tofu) until browned; remove from the skillet and set aside.
• Add the garlic to the wok or skillet and saute for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant. 
• Add the bamboo shoots and sweet potato; saute for 5 minutes. 
• Add the carrot, onion, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, chili, curry powder/paste, and peanuts. Saute for 3 minutes. 
• Add broth and bring to a boil. 
• Add the fish sauce, sugar, and coconut milk and return to a boil. Boil about 5-8 minutes, until vegetables are softened and liquid has reduced slightly. 
• Taste, add kosher salt. 
• Add the meat. Note: If using chicken or beef, add the meat when you add the fish sauce, sugar, and coconut milk--the flavors will permeate the meat better. 

Serve over rice, and garnish with green onions, cilantro, and Thai basil.

Notes

• Sonja and Alex offer this tip: "Curry powder used in Cambodia is most similar to Vietnamese curry powder, which cannot be substituted by an Indian-style or Madras curry powder. If you cannot locate Vietnamese curry powder, substitute Thai red curry paste, or try mixing half red and half yellow curry powder." I used equal parts Thai red curry paste and yellow curry paste.
• I couldn't find fresh lemongrass (though one of my friends has since educated me on where to get it) so I used a bottled lemongrass paste. I'm sure the real deal would have been better, as there were all sorts of preservatives and extra ingredients in the bottled paste.
• For the kaffir lime leaves, I substituted a little extra lemongrass plus the juice from 1/4 to 1/2 of a lime.
• I forgot to look for Thai basil, so I just left it out.
• This is great over coconut rice: Cook jasmine or basmati rice according to package directions, but use (light) coconut milk for about half the liquid measurement, and omit salt and butter.
• I found it helpful to line up all my ingredients on the counter, in the order that I'd need them. That way, once the skillet was going, I didn't have to think about what was supposed to be added at each step.
• Alex gave me permission to share this recipe, but they aren't giving me any sort of reward or incentive to promote their cookbook. I'm sharing it purely because I think it's a delicious recipe, a great cookbook, and an even better cause!

This is not at all what I expected to find when I opened the container of yellow curry paste: