Green Curry Porridge

The thick of tax season is eating up a lot of free time.

What little free time there is has been spent entertaining friends from out of town and sleeping. Entertaining = eating/drinking when in PDX. Some highlights as of late: Ruby Jewel has a ridiculously good peanut butter ice cream with chopped peanut butter cups that I topped with their marshmallow fluff. That had to happen. High Noon has a stellar taco salad. They fry up their own tortilla bowls. We tried some really good brews out at 54º40′ Brewing Company. Washougal, who knew? There is some solid ramen to be had at Mirakutei. And some scallops with uni. There was an unreal meal had at Le Pigeon involving rabbit, pigeon, and an ungodly amount of black truffle. Pie was had at Lauretta Jean’s a few days before Pi Day because why not? Timbers season started too.

So this curry sounds good right about now. It’s fresh and springy but still comforting and warm. A perfect transition food since the weather/temperature isn’t quite sure what it wants to do. The curry comes together by fresh ingredients, not a pre-made paste. It was a lot easier than I expected. This recipe is another reminder that I need to call in my Vitamix for servicing. I had to finally stop using it. RIP. The serrano peppers added such a nice heat to it. Feel free to leave out of that’s not your thing, but you should make your thing. They’re so good. The only thing I subbed out was jasmine rice for the brown rice and an acorn squash for the delicata because I couldn’t find delicata. Delicious.

Inspiration: 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoon fresh minced lemongrass
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 3/4 cups jasmine rice
• 5 cups of water
• 4 teaspoons sea salt
• 14oz can of coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 small serrano
• 1 cup cilantro + more for serving
• 1/2 cup green onion tops, save the white parts for garnish
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 small acorn squash, peeled and diced

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a large pot on medium high heat. Add the lemongrass, garlic, and coriander. Stir well. Smell that deliciousness. Add the rice and stir to cover in the mixture. Toast them for about 7-10 minutes. Stir occasionally so the herbs don’t burn.

Add the water and two teaspoons of salt. Stir well. Bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Simmer until all rice has cooked and is starting to burst. This will take about 30 minutes.

While the rice cooks, add the coconut milk, ginger, serrano, cilantro, green onion tops, spinach, lime juice and remaining two teaspoons of salt to a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour the coconut milk mixture to the rice and add the squash. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes or however long it takes the squash to get tender. Smaller pieces of squash are helpful.

Serve with green onion tops, more lime juice and olive oil.