Gang Garee / Yellow Curry with Chicken and Potato (Sunday, April 17, 2011)

Ever since leaving Lubbock, TX I miss the Thai food I used to get at Choochai.  This was a little hole in the wall joint painted purple and manned by Than, a five foot Thai immigrant who sat behind the bar seating cooking food right in front of your face while buckets around you filled with water dripping through the ceiling.  He was the man, and the people that worked there knew us by name.  I have never been able to find Thai food as good as that.  The Gang Garee, Kow Soy and Special Artar were my favorite dishes and they also had egg rolls that were out of control.  There was a note on the menu that said, "If you order hot it will be hot.  No refunds."  This place makes it a few stages hotter than most places.  I always went medium and that beaded sweat under my eyes.  I miss that place.
This meal started when I went to Bowood Farms, a plant nursery here in CWE and saw a plant that was labelled "Curry."  It smelled just like curry but said "non-culinary."  It occurred to me that I had no idea what curry was.  The next day I found myself in Penzey's spices and realized reading the label on the curry that it was a blend of many things, namely Turmeric, which gives it the yellow color.  Now I was even more curious about the "Curry" plant that I saw, cause it smelled exactly like curry and according to the label there is no such thing as a curry plant.
I bought some of the curry powder and when I got home realized I had most of what it takes to make something close to Gang Garee (yellow curry with potatoes).  I started with olive oil, onion and garlic and added a few spoonfuls of the curry powder.  Immediately the apartment was filled with the smell.  I let these flavors meld and develop a while over med-high heat and then added the chicken.  I let this cook briefly before adding potatoes and carrots.  I let all of this sautee for a few minutes so everything could absorb some of the yellow from the pan.  I added a can of coconut milk and some of my home-made chicken stock.  I was worried about the coconut milk because it was of a cottage cheese consistency.  I was about to ruin a good dish as I added it.  As soon as it hit the heat it turned to liquid.  Disaster averted.  I then added a few spoonfuls of chili paste, salt, pepper and a bit of cream to help it thicken.  I let this stew on low for the better part of an hour until the potatoes were cooked through and served it over some rice.  I think it was missing a little something but for a first attempt on the fly it turned out really well.  I actually think I did a better job than some Thai restaurants, even though I'm not sure that I adhered to the rules of Thai cuisine.  Some thinly sliced onions toward the end would add some nice crunch and perhaps some cilantro would lend it a more interesting flavor and some color.  AHH!  Fish sauce.  That's what I left out.  For a relatively hassle free, one pot meal, this is a winner that I will continue to work on.  Plus, you can use just about anything you have lying around.  Choochai 4 Life!