Green curry porridge

[Magical Realist]

Green Curry Porridge

You can use sorrel here when you come across it in place of the spinach/lime juice. If you use a winter squash other than delicata, consider peeling it first. Also! This recipe can easily be doubled for an extra-large pot. The leftovers are well worth it.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemongrass, minced
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 3/4 cups uncooked brown rice
5 cups water
4 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
1 14-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
1 tablespoon minced ginger, peeled
1 small serrano chile, seeded
1 cup cilantro, plus more for serving
1/2 cup green onion tops (reserve the bottoms for serving)
1 cup sorrel (or 1 cup spinach + 2 T. lime juice)
1 small delicata squash, halved, deseeded, cut into 1/4-inch thick crescents

For serving: chopped green onions, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, olive oil

To a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil, lemongrass, garlic, coriander, and rice. Stir constantly until the rice kernels are toasted and fragrant, 7-10 minutes. Add the water, slowly and while stirring--the heat will cause the water to bubble. Stir in 2 teaspoons of the salt and let the soup simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes or until the rice has cooked through and many of its grains have burst.

In the meantime, combine the coconut milk, ginger, serrano chile, cilantro, green onion tops, sorrel, and remaining 2 teaspoons of salt in a blender. (Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender here.) Blend until smooth, then taste and adjust, if needed. Add the herbed coconut milk, along with the squash, to the porridge. Simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking.

To serve, ladle the porridge into bowls and top each with chopped green onion, a small heap of chopped cilantro, a drizzle of olive oil, and a wedge of lime.

Serves 4-6.

Prep time: 10 min - Cook time: 55 min

[Image: green_curry_porridge_recipe.jpg]

[C C]

Got curious about "green curry" itself for the first time in my life...

Since the wan ("sweet") in kaeng khiao wan synesthetically pertains to the green color rather than referencing the curry's flavor... This made me wonder if there are any significant cultural differences in how Thai society conceives colors as compared to Western or Anglophone tradition. However, when taking into account Crayola Crayon's choice of "bittersweet shimmer" as an outright name for a [metallic] color, I realized that a "sweet" green signifies no interesting ethnic divergence in cognition after all.