Green Curry Cauldron

I was looking for something to cook for a Halloween party, and found an idea from Martha Stewart's website. Here's our family's usual green curry recipe, but with a Halloween twist by making it greener and gooey-looking. 

Ingredients:
1 cup spinach leaves, chopped
1 can coconut milk, divided
1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
2 lbs chicken thigh or breast fillet, cubed
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 small zuccinni, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 small broccoli crown, cut into florets (about 1 or 1 1/2 cups)
1 green bell pepper, cubed
1 tbsp sugar
salt

Using a blender, puree the chopped spinach and 2/3 can coconut milk. Set aside.
Heat the wok and add the canola oil. Saute the green curry paste. You can add or reduce the curry paste depending on the level of spiciness you like.
Add the coconut milk-spinach puree and let it simmer.
Add the chicken cubes and broth. Season with fish sauce, sugar and salt.
Cook for 15-20 minutes until chicken are tender.
Add the zuccinni and cook for 5 minutes, then add the broccoli and green bell pepper.
Add the remaining coconut milk and let simmer for about 5 minutes more.
Serve with rice.

For regular green curry, you can skip the coconut milk-spinach puree and just add plain coconut milk. You can also add other kinds of vegetables, such as sliced potatoes and carrots. 

Chocolate Cupcake

Jaemi just turned 4! We were not supposed to throw a party for her, but caved in at the last minute. I was unable to pre-order the cake I really wanted for her birthday, so I decided to make cupcakes instead. I got this recipe from my sis-in-law, and tweaked the frosting a little bit. I'm still not that good in artfully designing cupcakes, but they turned out great-tasting and was a sure hit! 



Dry ingredients:

1 3/4 c flour
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 c sugar
1 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:

2 eggs
1 c milk
1/2 c vegetable or canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 c boiling water

Frosting:

1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperatrure
2/3 c cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1 can condensed milk


How to make the cupcakes:

Line cupcake pan with paper cups. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large bowl, sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda.
Add sugar and salt. Mix until well blended.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg then add in all wet ingredients and stir.
Add wet mixture to dry mix, stir until well combined, but still with some lumps.
Pour batter in cupcake pan, filling about 2/3 of each cup.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean when tested.

** You can also use this as cake mix, increasing the baking time to 20-22 minutes for 8" round or 9" square cake pan.


Frosting:

Using a mixer, whisk the soft butter. Add condensed milk then cocoa powder, whisking them in 3-4 intervals. Add vanilla then whisk. Use rubber spatula to scrape unwhisked cocoa on the sides of the bowl and mix them in. Cool the cupcakes before frosting.

Pork Binagoongan in Coconut Milk

This isn't really a dish Jaemi enjoys, but something I prepare when our Pinoy friends are here and beer is served during get-together dinners at home. I also cook this when I miss the fiestas back home, and when my hubby simply craves for it. It's difficult to get pork belly (the ideal cut for the recipe) in regular grocery stores here in Houston. I guess all the bacon makers got 'em all. So I usually substitute it with pork strip spare ribs combined with cubed country style ribs or boston butt-roast. That way you'll get a balance of the flavor-packed bone parts (the strip spare ribs), dark meat, and fat. 

2 lbs pork belly, cubed*
2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 serrano peppers or long green peppers, chopped
OR 1 tsp chili flakes**
1 medium sized tomato, chopped
1/4 cup bagoong (shrimp paste)
2 tbsp patis (fish sauce)
1 cup coconut milk (set aside 1/4 cup)
2 tbsp brown sugar
salt to taste
2 whole serrano peppers


In a deep sauteing pan, heat oil over medium heat.
Sear the pork on all sides, then set aside. Remove some of the oil, leaving only about 1 tbsp.
Saute garlic and onion until translucent.
Add the chopped peppers (or chili flakes), the shrimp paste, and then the tomato and saute until tender.
Stir in 3/4 cup coconut milk and fish sauce.
When coconut milk is simmering, add the seared pork. Let it cook over medium heat until pork is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Stir in the remaining coconut milk, then add brown sugar and season with salt according to taste.
Let the coconut milk simmer again for about 3 minutes.
Add the whole serrano peppers, then turn off the heat.
Serve with rice.


*You can also use pork spare ribs, pork boston butt-roast, or pork country style ribs.
** You can modify the amount of peppers or chili flakes depending on the desired spiciness. To make it mildly spicy, either use one serrano pepper only or remove the seeds of the pepper or reduce the chili flakes to 1/2 tsp.