Curry pork & rice cure all life's little ill's

I love curry, in bean soup, with any type of meat, and ESPECIALLY with rice. So, in an effort to love & be loved, I would like to share my curry recipe (well, tonight's recipe, anyway, it changes every time, since I am a ~pinch of this, pinch of that, till it smells right~ type of cook).

First off, I have to admit something, I use a pre-mixed curry blend powder from the bulk section at WinCo. It's not as good as the Spice Islands blend, & definitely not as good as fresh mix, however, it's cheap, and if I add some stuff to it, it works very well. Also, I only like to use fresh herbs, if I can at all help it.

The other thing I have to really re-iterate is, I cook to taste, always. So, sometimes it's spicier, could be saltier, could be garlic-ier, even green onoin-ier, just depending on my good ol' shnozz.

That said, here are the things I always use, in varying amounts.

fresh chopped Green Onions (stalks AND bulbs) ~about 4 to six stalks, or one bunch from the grocery store)

fresh minced garlic ~ about 2 Tbsp to 1/4 cup, depending on how garlicy you like it

Aloha Shoyu soy sauce ~ about 1/2 cup, depends on how salty you want it ( this is the ONLY kind of soy sauce I have ever liked, the flavor is fantastic, and compliments rather than overpowers)

sesame oil ~ probably a Tbsp or so

peanut oil ~ again, probably a Tbsp-ish

scant amount of dill weed ~ a pinch or a large pinch,, depending on how much hotness you want to cut

(dill weed cuts the hotness, so if you like a lot of spice flavor without the hot, dill weed is a perfect compliment, also, if you can't find this fresh, dried will do)

curry powder ~ about 3 to 5 Tbsp, depending on how spicy you like it, and how much you need to make

fresh minced ginger ~ about 2 tsp

OPTIONAL:

coconut milk to taste ( add in with 2nd soy sauce, makes a creamy light sauce, it's HEAVENLY!),

chopped cashews for garnish (salted taste the yummiest!)

some sort of meat, if you eat meat, if not, make a gravy & pour it over rice & veggies

We only eat meat once in a great while, so usually I cut it into small chunks and use it to mostly flavor the food, about 1/3 pound or less for 7 people.

about 3 tbsp flour , mixed with about 1 to 2 cups cold water, to make a rue, or saucy sort of paste, to thicken what's left on the pan, if you want to make a gravy out of it, plus water to thin it to desired amount & thickness of gravy)

First off, I take some sesame oil & some peanut oil ( enough to cover the bottom of the pan, plus a splash or so more, also, I guess you could substitute with olive oil, but it won't have quite the same flavor) put it on the bottom of the pan, add in the green onions, garlic, ginger dill, & curry powder, plus about 1/2 of the soy sauce. Then I turn on the gas to small flame, and let that all simmer together for a bit, making sure to mix the powder in with the oils & soy sauce.

Once the green onions have started to wilt ( or are not as firm looking), it's time to decide if you are going to add meat or not. If you do want to add meat, stick it on top of the mixtre in the pan, let it braize for a bit, then turn them over, add the rest of the soy sauce(if you are adding coconut milk, now is the time to add it, as well), sort of scraping up the mixture, ( you can add a touch of water here too, if not using the coconut milk, if you think it looks too dry or you are cooking extremely lean meat), put the lid on the pan, turn it to low, and let it cook till the meat is done. ( I have a huge fry pan I use, and I just turn a huge wok over the top of that to make a lid for it)

Now, when the meat is done, or, if you don't want to add meat, you can take the mixture that's in the pan, and make it into a gravy ( leave it simmering on low), by adding the rue ( flour & water mixture, be sure you have gotten all the lumps out!) into the pan. It will thicken up quite quickly, so add a touch more cold water (or coconut milk) to the mixture, plus the rest of the soy sauce to thin it to taste, making sure you scrape up all the goodness off the bottom of the pan. Tast the gravy, and see if it needs more saltiness, if so add a little more soy sauce, if it tastes too salty, add a bit more water, and if it's perfect, it must be ready to serve! Once you get to this point, you can add a few long fresh stems of green onion, makes it look pretty.

I like to make up a pot of jasmine or basmati rice to compliment the curry, but plain old regular rice works too. Also, corn, broccoli, spinach, greens, beets, etc, compliment curry very nicely.

If you have left-overs, the best place for them is with scrambled eggs in the morning! No kidding, left-over curry and eggs are simply DIVINE! Especially in chapati's or even corn or flour tortilla shells, if you don't have chapati's.

Dinner anyone?