Green Curry - Part One

Ever since my return to the restaurant scene after Easter, and my subsequent trip to The Blue Orchid, and getting to sample Mary's delicious green curry dish - I've been on a mission to make my own green curry. Saturday was my first attempt.

Part One - Green Curry Paste. After a trip to our new HyVee store, which conveniently hosts Lincoln's only Caribou coffee shop - I had most of the ingredients I needed. I was still missing lemon grass and fresh coriander. The lemon grass I got in a tube - not sure if that was a good decision or not - I'm going to have to try to find the real thing. The fresh coriander was a learning experience for me.

I found an Asian grocery store and asked for the fresh coriander and was told they had nothing like this. I found a second store - called "Homeland Food Market" - and again asked for fresh coriander. The clerk seemed to know nothing of this product. A customer leaving the store over heard my question and enlightened me - "you need cilantro," he said. I promptly began to think of him as an idiot, like I don't know what cilantro is. Turns out Cilantro and Fresh Coriander are the same thing! Learn more here. I left that store with a jar of Coriander Chutney. Not sure if I'll ever use it - but I felt stupid so I bought something. (Turns out most people already know this - thanks for telling me!)

Here's my green curry paste: (I just found this recipe on the internet - there are tons!)
2 Fresh Green Chillies
1 Small Onion
1 Tsp Ground Coriander
1 Lime, juice and rind
1 Stalk Lemon Grass
1 Clove Garlic
1 Tsp Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
1/4 cup Fresh Coriander, stalks and leaves
1 Tblsp grated fresh ginger
2 Tbls oil

Place all in blender/food processor and blend until paste.
(When I make this again I'll use more chillies and more lime.) I had plenty left over so its in a jar in my fridge - perhaps I'll freeze it.