I tried making yellow curry for the first time tonight. I figured I had all the ingredients I needed at home already, and I did 🙂
It came out… OK… but I know that for me, I need 3 experimental tries before I perfect a recipe to my liking, no matter if it is one that I made up or one that I found online to expand my repertoire. The first try is to taste what it was designed (or thought) to taste like. Next attempt is to make minor adjustments to cook time & ingredients. The 3rd is to ensure that what I learned from the first two attempts stuck and I can replicate moving forward quicker, better, and catered to my family’s pallets and restrictions.
What I learned from the recipe I briefly reviewed to make this dish:
- Yay me for having all the ingredients on deck!
- If I double or triple the liquid/stock of the recipe, I MUST at least add 75% more of ALL other ingredients *face palm* Did I multiple the liquid by 2.5 and only barely add a few more shakes of the seasonings and curry just before I added? Possibly.
- Next time only add double coconut, only about 25% more veggie broth to keep it rich & more of that awesome coconut tang and the end of the bite.
- Instead of using 1.5 cans of the organic coconut milk – add a whole can of coconut creme and half a can of the coconut milk (or a bit more) to thicken the consistency, and again, that tang.
- Instead of cooking the veggies most of the way prior (boiled the potatoes and carrots), cook them half to 25% and let them simmer in the curry longer and on a lower temp to REALLY soak up all of the flavor.
- Add half of the bamboo shoots – the small can was deceiving, but I like a better balance of the veggies in the dish and prefer the most broccoli since it soaks up the flavors magnificently and is my daughter’s favorite veggie.
- I could afford to go a bit sweeter and spicy, I think my daughter can handle a bit more heat.
- Flavor was about a 4.6 because it was just waaaaaay too subdued, but I could tell when done right that third time, will be a staple this winter.
By the third time, I will also revert back to using brown rice as well – or find a great vegan naan recipe.
