Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Hot, Hot, Hot!

It's a really good thing I thought to throw together this cooooool salad plate for the Cap'n and I to share before my first at-home venture into making panang curry at home. The easy peanut sauce (natural peanut butter, agave, water, red pepper flakes, ginger) over cucumbers, tomato, chickpeas, and carrots was light, tasty, refreshing, and did wonders to cool down our palates after enjoying this dinner.

Panang Curry Soy Curls with Snap Peas, & Yellow Bell Pepper over Jasmine Basmati Rice.

I was so excited to find a Panang Curry online that didn't contain shrimp paste. Immersed in my glee, I read the directions on the can of paste and just went with it, not tasting to see just how much heat we'd be dealing with. Just look at all those little flecks of HOT in that sauce! I loved it, but it would have been even better just a bit more mild. Next time I'll definitely use just half the paste, cut it down with coconut milk and save the rest for another great curry night!

Basically, I just rehydrated the soy curls, then browned them in some peanut oil. I removed them and briefly sauteed the peas and the pepper until the peas were a vibrant green, but still crisp and removed them from the heat.
According to the directions, the paste was sauteed in a little oil then half a can of coconut milk was added. The curls and the veggies were added, that simmered for couple minutes before adding the remaining coconut milk was stirred in. The only change I made was to add agave which I thought added a subtle sweetness that really brought out the curry flavor over the heat.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of a peanut sauce for a salad dressing. It looks delicious, I'm going to try that!

Anonymous said...

the food looks awesome as always, i will be at florida for a few days next week, in a newbie there do you have a store or place recomendations, you can answer them here or at my blog if you want,
thanks!

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

my hubby loves peanut sauce as a salad dressing. and DANG, yr Panang Curry Soy Curls with Snap Peas, & Yellow Bell Pepper over Jasmine Basmati Rice look so freakin good.

Beth said...

Yea! Panang is back with a passion!!! That's awesome that you found a sauce... I had that problem too the last time i made it myself, the sauce is just too hot for my palate.

MeloMeals said...

that looks and sounds so delicious.. and the hotter the better for me..

Your salad is so beautiful.

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

Panang Curry SOY CURLS? You rule so hard.

I haven't made anything with soy curls in over a month, and last night I was seriously staring at my jar of them, thinking of your creativity with them.

Jess said...

:drool: That looks so delicious! I really need to get some of those soy curls...

TB said...

Panang Curry is my favorite thing ever! I made the same spicy mistake the firt time I used my paste, too. I wonder if we have the same one? Anyway, yum.

Sheree' said...

Can you share the link of where you got the paste? I would love to get some. You are making my mouth water. Brandie has a movie of her ultra sound on her blog. It is so cool. Due date is getting closer for you too! How exciting!

Monika K said...

You're always posting delicious recipes for soy curls and danggit if I don't just want to go out and buy some! So, I found some on the internet to order...do you have a particular brand that you recommend?

P.S. The ones I found are from uncledons.com

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

mmm, spicy dishes are my favorite - the peanut sauce as a dressing sounds FABULOUS!!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Mmmm! We had curried soy curls last week too. Your appetizer looks like the perfect way to tame that heat...

Judy said...

Oh, that does look hot! I would need tons of that salad :)

Amey said...

Yikes!
I'm a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to food that's too spicy. I love it to a point, and then my lips just start burning & I lose my enthusiasim!

I just recently bought a package of Soy Curls... haven't used 'em yet. Bryanna Clark Grogran uses them a lot in her recipes, so maybe I"ll try one of those...

:) Amey

Green Eyes, Green Heart said...

Wow, that looks amazing!
What part of FL do you live in? I live just outside of Orlando, & go to school in Lakeland.

Kumquat Peekapoo said...

Wow, both the salad and the curry look wonderful. I've never heard of soy curls, but after looking at all the tasty ways you use them, I'm pretty much sold.