Week 20: Thailand

I don't know why it didn't occur to me that Thailand is some sort of monarchy (a constitutional monarchy to be specific) . Duh, "Anna and the King of Siam"? Thailand used to be called Siam up until about 1939? Hello!


Some additional fun facts we learned about Thailand:

• Thailand has never been taken over by a European power.
• The country is 95% Buddhist.
• Number of coups d'etat since 1932: eighteen.
• Thailand is the number one rice exporter in the world.

And speaking of carbo-liciousness, Thai noodley dishes are some of my favorite comfort foods. I can't decide whether I like the old standby of Pad Thai with all its fishy, limey, peanutty flavors, or Pad See Ew with its wide noodles swimming in thick, sweet soy sauce gravy. Please also give me some fresh rolls with fresh mint, crunchy veggies, and maybe some shrimps. I adore chicken satay with peanut sauce. In fact, I don't think I have met a Thai dish I didn't love.

I can't go too spicey, but my trusty glass of Thai iced tea, generously laced with cream, will help cool off any flavas that get too excited. [Insert David Carradine joke.]

Hands down my favorite curry in the entire world is a Thai coconut curry of any color liberally sprinkled with some fresh cilantro or Thai basil. This is what inspired this week's recipe, which I sort of half-assed made up and used prepackaged stuff.

I sautéd some onion and shiitake mushrooms, and some red and orange bell peppers. I simmered some coconut milk with some Thai red curry paste (from a jar). I added some shrimps, the sauted veggies, and voila! We topped it with basil and cilantro from the garden and ate it over white rice. Fantastic!