Thai Food! part one

the south china seas trading company: mecca for kyle.

a hidden stall in the granville island market, the south china seas trading company carries all kinds of phenomenal, rare ingredients you can't find in any supermarket. perfect for making authentic thai food.

kaffir (also known as magrut) limes. fresh lime leaves. galangal. lemongrass. thai basil. chiles. curry pastes. fish sauce. all fairly intimidating, unfamiliar ingredients. step outside your comfort zone! experiment and trust your senses. smell. taste. touch. they won't steer you wrong. and more than anything, don't be afraid to ask questions. the staff at south china seas are knowledgeable and helpful.

kyle's red thai curry seafood soup with blackened greens

what you'll need:

1 pound prawns (shells on)
8 large scallops
1 can coconut cream
1 can coconut milk
2 litres chicken stock
3 tbsp fish sauce (or more to taste)
1 small (thumb-sized) piece galangal
1 small (thumb-sized) piece ginger
3 tbsp red curry paste
2 stalks lemon grass
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 bunch fresh thai basil
1 package lime leaves
2 kaffir limes
2 normal limes
4 small red thai chiles
1 large red bell pepper, julienned
1 pack snow peas, stringed & julienned
1 bunch gai lan (chinese broccoli)
1 package rice noodles, thin width.

a note on ingredients: they're all readily available at the granville island market at any given time. galangal is a relative of ginger with a medicinal aroma. kaffir limes are meant to be ugly. they look like the lie that was forgotten about for a few weeks - they're prized for their zest. fish sauce is basically sardines packed in salt & left in the sun for a few weeks. it stinks, but doesn't taste bad - it adds a great salty depth to this broth and is absolutely necessary - fish sauce is one of the defining flavors in thai food.

mise en place (everything in its place) is incredibly important for this recipe. do as much chopping & slicing as you can, and set all your ingredients on plates for easy access as you cook.

first, peel & de-vein your shrimp by running your knife just along the back & pulling out their digestive tract (it's not actually a vein)

save your shells!

add a bit of canola oil to a large pot and set to high heat. add curry paste & saute for approx 1 minute. add stock, coconut milk & coconut cream. add fish sauce & shrimp shells. bruise lemongrass with the back of a knife & slice finely. tear 10 lime leaves into broth. zest both kaffir limes into broth. slice 2 1/4 inch slices of both ginger & galangal, add to broth.

bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer on medium-low heat for 1 hour. strain broth to remove shells, lemongrass, etc. add broth back to pot. continue to simmer.

now put a saute pan (with a lid) on maximum heat and let it get REALLY hot. add gai lan to pan, without oil, and stir around to let the leaves start to blacken. add 1/4 cup of water and cover, steam will shoot everywhere and be really exciting!let steam for approx. 1 minute. gai lan should be just cooked - if not continue to steam until al dente. run immediately under cool water and set aside on paper towel to drain.

now, timing at this stage is everything. heat your oven to 450 degrees.

put a pot of water on to boil, to cook your rice noodles. also place the same saute pan back on high heat with a little bit of canola oil. just before your water is about to boil, add scallops to saute pan. about 30 seconds per side - the scallops should be seared nicely. place scallops in oven, put noodles in boiling water. once the noodles have been in for 1 minute, add shrimp to broth. your scallops, noodles & shrimps will all be cooked at the same time - remove scallops from oven & turn off broth. now juice 2 limes into the broth right before serving.

to serve:

lay noodles into 4 bowls. add blackened greens on top, with raw, sliced bell pepper & snow peas. ladle broth & shrimps over top. garnish with chopped fresh cilantro, thai basil & chiles.