Another green curry variant
Saturday evening, I realized I didn't have anything pressing I needed to be doing, and that it was going to be a while before people were going to be hungry. Also, there are two huge bags of fresh peas in the fridge from last week's CSA box. (And that's not even counting the pea pods and snow peas I still have from the week before!) The rapini should also get used soon. So I enlisted Mom and Nik to help me shell peas. The two bags yielded about two cups of peas. Once the peas were shelled, I surveyed my kitchen. Not feeling like dealing with a second pot for rice, I decided I would try it with orzo. I brought about four inches of water to a boil in my 5-quart pot, and dissolved in it two bouillion cubes and a tablespoon of green curry paste. When those were thoroughly dissolved, I poured in about half a pound of orzo, and set the timer for five minutes (the box said 9-11 minutes to cook the orzo).
While the orzo was cooking in the broth, I cubed a pound of high-protein extra firm tofu. Shortly after the timer went off, I poured in a can of coconut milk, and a little more water. I let it cook a couple more minutes, then added the tofu. While that simmered, I chopped the rapini into bite-sized bits. The bundle was about as much as I can comfortably grab in one hand. By this time, the orzo was nearly cooked, so I added the rapini, gave it a minute, added the peas, and turned off the burner (leaving the pot on the still-hot burener). I added garlic salt and fresh ground white pepper.
I added a little too much white pepper, and the sharp, smoky flavor was kind of overpowering. It needed a soft, round flavor to smooth it out. Juice of one lime, and the remaining few sprigs of cinnamon basil. I covered it and let it sit briefly to absorb the new flavors, and it was perfect.
With the exception of shelling the peas, the whole process took maybe 20 minutes, including the time it took the water to boil. I had leftovers for lunch today, and the lime flavor had developed a bit. I would add the lime juice earlier in the process, maybe at the same time as the tofu, but doesn't cooking destroy vitamin C? Another notion is to marinate the tofu in lime juice with just a touch of the curry paste mixed in.
While the orzo was cooking in the broth, I cubed a pound of high-protein extra firm tofu. Shortly after the timer went off, I poured in a can of coconut milk, and a little more water. I let it cook a couple more minutes, then added the tofu. While that simmered, I chopped the rapini into bite-sized bits. The bundle was about as much as I can comfortably grab in one hand. By this time, the orzo was nearly cooked, so I added the rapini, gave it a minute, added the peas, and turned off the burner (leaving the pot on the still-hot burener). I added garlic salt and fresh ground white pepper.
I added a little too much white pepper, and the sharp, smoky flavor was kind of overpowering. It needed a soft, round flavor to smooth it out. Juice of one lime, and the remaining few sprigs of cinnamon basil. I covered it and let it sit briefly to absorb the new flavors, and it was perfect.
With the exception of shelling the peas, the whole process took maybe 20 minutes, including the time it took the water to boil. I had leftovers for lunch today, and the lime flavor had developed a bit. I would add the lime juice earlier in the process, maybe at the same time as the tofu, but doesn't cooking destroy vitamin C? Another notion is to marinate the tofu in lime juice with just a touch of the curry paste mixed in.