Thai Green Curry Seafood

I always thought I wasn't a fan of curry after a dreadful experience tasting curry for the first time in college. I believe the curry was some sort of yellow powdered mixture that a dorm neighbor cooked up. She was half Japanese and introduced some of us non-adventurous diners to things such as seaweed covered rice balls, ramen noodles, and the aforementioned curry.  I still love seaweed in the sushi format and indulge occasionally in a doctored up bowl of ramen, but it wasn't until I braved curry again in the form of a Thai dish did I decide that it was delicious.

I saw this recipe while cleaning out old copies of Bon Appetit (May 2009) and thought it looked intriguing and perfect for the cold, wet, wintery days we've been experiencing.  It is like a soup and actually Bon Appetit referred to it as an International chowder.  Be forewarned though, it is very, very spicy in my opinion.  As my BFF Patti would say "burns baby's tongue."  It called for two jalapeno peppers and I used only one and it still was quite spicey.  I read the label on the curry paste and it said it was 30% peppers which could explain the heat.  I would definitely make this again but omit the extra pepper altogether and not use as much water called for to make it a bit thicker in consistency. 

Many Thai recipes require a lot of different ingredients and this one was no exception. Once I got everything prepped though, it went together very fast-about 20 minutes. 

Thai Green Curry Seafood

2 tablespoons unrefined peanut oil
5 green onions, finely chopped, dark green parts separated from white and pale green parts
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
1 1/4 cups water
1 13- to 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
2 small fresh red Thai chiles or 1 red jalapeño chile
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 tablespoon fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
1 large carrot, peeled, thinly sliced on diagonal (about 1 cup)
4 cups thinly sliced bok choy
8 ounces uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
8 ounces bay scallops
1 pound green or black mussels, scrubbed, debearded
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
2 cups (about) steamed rice

Unrefined peanut oil can be found at natural foods stores and markets. Thai green curry paste, coconut milk, and fish sauce are sold at many supermarkets and at Asian markets. Look for fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves at markets. If unavailable, use 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel for each lime leaf.

Preparation

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add white and pale green parts of green onions, 1 tablespoon cilantro, and garlic; sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Add curry paste; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 1 1/4 cups water, coconut milk, chiles, lime leaves, and fish sauce. Bring to simmer. Add carrot; cover and cook until carrot is just tender, about 5 minutes. Layer bok choy, shrimp, scallops, then mussels in pan. Cover and simmer until mussels open and seafood and bok choy are cooked (discard mussels that do not open), about 5 minutes. Stir in dark green parts of green onions, 2 tablespoons cilantro, and basil.

Divide rice among 4 shallow bowls. Ladle curry over rice and serve.