Fifty Weeks, Fifty Curries: Week Twenty-Five: Kori Gashi
Duck curry Tales, woo-oo!
So we're standing in the butcher's shop and I pick up some meat, and softlykarou turns to me and she says, "Why a duck?" And I turn to her and I tell her, "Why a duck? I'll tell you why a duck!"
Well, part of that is true. We walked in and there was a big package of frozen duck meat right in front of us in the cabinet, so I asked why not use duck in the curry this week instead of chicken? Duck is a lot fattier, after all, and we've already had an instance where lack of fat helped to ruin one of the curries we tried. Especially since I had already been told that this curry uses coconut milk, so I figured that the more fat we put in, the better. When we walked out of the butcher's shop with the duck in our bag, I figured that this week would be a good curry.
When I walked past the kitchen and started coughing from the spices in the air, I knew it would be a great one.
Looks a lot like the ingredients we used for our old curries, but with fewer vegetables.
And I was right. It was amazing. I took the first bite, coughed a bit, took a few more bites, got up to blow my nose, and did all the normal things I do when I'm eating a curry I really like. That huge pile of chilis above definitely left their mark on the sauce, and I'm glad that it's suddenly gotten a bit warmer in the last few days because we were able to open the kitchen door to let out the spicy air so that softlykarou didn't suffocate while she was cooking. It actually reminded me a bit of Thai curry. Not the taste, but the texture and the heat. The only thing missing was the giant pile of vegetables we threw in our Thai curry, and we had a giant pile of broccoli on the side that I would have added to it except that we also had chapatis to cut through the spice and I wasn't sure how well it would all go together.
I mean, it all went together great as a meal, but all in the same mouthful? That's more dubious. There's nothing I can think of that would prevent this from being stuffed full of vegetables, though, and I might want to try it that way and see if it's still good as more of a stew.
This would make an awful smoothie.
Words from the ChefThis curry was incredibly easy to make. Hands down, one of the easiest curries that I've made. Of course, I cheated and skipped the "making your own coconut milk" step but really, in the end, does it matter? I was really hopeful about this curry as it was mostly spices and coconut milk, thus the most similar to Thai Curry. Brian suggested using duck instead of chicken and I was up for it. I like duck well enough but it's not my favorite. I think I would have preferred if I'd rendered the fat from the duck breast before cooking and kept the skin aside for garnish. But overall I was very happy with the flavor. Thus far, this curry has looked the most like the picture in the book!
It looks like seyal gosht, but don't panic yet.
This is one area where softlykarou and I differ, and one way in which I greatly differ from my past self. I used to hate fatty bits and would actively avoid any meat with fat on it, probably fostered by my parents dutifully following the appropriate health guidelines and using only lean meats except for the occasional dip into pot roast. Now I love fatty meat and those giant chunks of fat hanging off the pieces of duck were the best part. Though I don't suppose I'd complain if they had been rendered off and dumped back into the curry sauce. I've probably mentioned it before, but of all the many varieties of ramen in Japan, my absolute favorite is Onomichi ramen, which is distinguished by the tell-tale sheen of globs of melted lard floating in the broth. The duck fat would probably have done something similar here. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
But of course, that's the problem. Did I really love kori gashi because it's a great curry, or do I love it because I decided to use duck and I like duck better than chicken? It's a concern I had with a few of the old curries too, where we'd throw in short ribs instead of stew lamb and I'd think it tasted amazing. Am I really providing a proper impression of the recipes in 50 Great Curries of India when we keep making these changes? Do I actually care as long as I get a good-tasting dinner out of it?
I suppose I don't. Duck > Chicken.
Green, brown, and white/yellow. Just missing red of the four major food colors.
Last week's curry gave us four more meals after the initial one with the leftovers, and that's including the last meal, which was probably 1.5 meals worth but I was sick of that huge container taking up space in the fridge so I just ate it all. This week gave maybe one meal, and probably one that I'll have to add a lot of sides to to get a full dinner out of. And that's sad, because it was fantastic and as much as I liked dhansak, I'd rather have four meals worth of kori gashi.
I guess I'll add some of my chuck roast lunch meat to the sauce when I eat it. Maybe that'll answer the question of whether the duck is really the vital ingredient.
Would I Eat It Again?: I'd eat it every day!
Do I Prefer It to the Usual Thai Curry?: Yes! ...but I don't know if that's entirely because of the duck. It would have to try Thai curry with duck or kori gashi with chicken or beef to see how it differs.
What Would I Change?: Everything was great and I can't think of anything else necessary, though I'd love it with veggies.
So we're standing in the butcher's shop and I pick up some meat, and softlykarou turns to me and she says, "Why a duck?" And I turn to her and I tell her, "Why a duck? I'll tell you why a duck!"
Well, part of that is true. We walked in and there was a big package of frozen duck meat right in front of us in the cabinet, so I asked why not use duck in the curry this week instead of chicken? Duck is a lot fattier, after all, and we've already had an instance where lack of fat helped to ruin one of the curries we tried. Especially since I had already been told that this curry uses coconut milk, so I figured that the more fat we put in, the better. When we walked out of the butcher's shop with the duck in our bag, I figured that this week would be a good curry.
When I walked past the kitchen and started coughing from the spices in the air, I knew it would be a great one.
Looks a lot like the ingredients we used for our old curries, but with fewer vegetables.
And I was right. It was amazing. I took the first bite, coughed a bit, took a few more bites, got up to blow my nose, and did all the normal things I do when I'm eating a curry I really like. That huge pile of chilis above definitely left their mark on the sauce, and I'm glad that it's suddenly gotten a bit warmer in the last few days because we were able to open the kitchen door to let out the spicy air so that softlykarou didn't suffocate while she was cooking. It actually reminded me a bit of Thai curry. Not the taste, but the texture and the heat. The only thing missing was the giant pile of vegetables we threw in our Thai curry, and we had a giant pile of broccoli on the side that I would have added to it except that we also had chapatis to cut through the spice and I wasn't sure how well it would all go together.
I mean, it all went together great as a meal, but all in the same mouthful? That's more dubious. There's nothing I can think of that would prevent this from being stuffed full of vegetables, though, and I might want to try it that way and see if it's still good as more of a stew.
This would make an awful smoothie.
Words from the ChefThis curry was incredibly easy to make. Hands down, one of the easiest curries that I've made. Of course, I cheated and skipped the "making your own coconut milk" step but really, in the end, does it matter? I was really hopeful about this curry as it was mostly spices and coconut milk, thus the most similar to Thai Curry. Brian suggested using duck instead of chicken and I was up for it. I like duck well enough but it's not my favorite. I think I would have preferred if I'd rendered the fat from the duck breast before cooking and kept the skin aside for garnish. But overall I was very happy with the flavor. Thus far, this curry has looked the most like the picture in the book!
It looks like seyal gosht, but don't panic yet.
This is one area where softlykarou and I differ, and one way in which I greatly differ from my past self. I used to hate fatty bits and would actively avoid any meat with fat on it, probably fostered by my parents dutifully following the appropriate health guidelines and using only lean meats except for the occasional dip into pot roast. Now I love fatty meat and those giant chunks of fat hanging off the pieces of duck were the best part. Though I don't suppose I'd complain if they had been rendered off and dumped back into the curry sauce. I've probably mentioned it before, but of all the many varieties of ramen in Japan, my absolute favorite is Onomichi ramen, which is distinguished by the tell-tale sheen of globs of melted lard floating in the broth. The duck fat would probably have done something similar here. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
But of course, that's the problem. Did I really love kori gashi because it's a great curry, or do I love it because I decided to use duck and I like duck better than chicken? It's a concern I had with a few of the old curries too, where we'd throw in short ribs instead of stew lamb and I'd think it tasted amazing. Am I really providing a proper impression of the recipes in 50 Great Curries of India when we keep making these changes? Do I actually care as long as I get a good-tasting dinner out of it?
I suppose I don't. Duck > Chicken.
Green, brown, and white/yellow. Just missing red of the four major food colors.
Last week's curry gave us four more meals after the initial one with the leftovers, and that's including the last meal, which was probably 1.5 meals worth but I was sick of that huge container taking up space in the fridge so I just ate it all. This week gave maybe one meal, and probably one that I'll have to add a lot of sides to to get a full dinner out of. And that's sad, because it was fantastic and as much as I liked dhansak, I'd rather have four meals worth of kori gashi.
I guess I'll add some of my chuck roast lunch meat to the sauce when I eat it. Maybe that'll answer the question of whether the duck is really the vital ingredient.
Would I Eat It Again?: I'd eat it every day!
Do I Prefer It to the Usual Thai Curry?: Yes! ...but I don't know if that's entirely because of the duck. It would have to try Thai curry with duck or kori gashi with chicken or beef to see how it differs.
What Would I Change?: Everything was great and I can't think of anything else necessary, though I'd love it with veggies.