I made Curry w/ Thai Chilis, Broccoli, Squash, & Guinness the other day. I couldn't quite decide between beer cheese soup and curry. This turned out to be an incredibly delicious combination! I couldn't get enough of it and was quite sad when I'd eaten all of the curry in just a few short days. So, I decided to make another round for Thanksgiving. I've now also just affectionately started calling this "Guinness Curry." It's by no means a traditional Thai curry and, although I'm sure that if I've thought of it, someone has made it! But it's quickly becoming my new favorite dish.
I also kind of made this for Thanksgiving. I did things kind of backwards this year and started out in the morning making curry. It takes several hours to slowly simmer and I absolutely adore the scent of curry on the stove and gradually tasting and spicing throughout the day. So, by the time that dinner rolled around, the last thing that I needed was more food! But, I still managed to make Baked Brie w/ Puff Pastry and New York Cheesecake w/ Ambercup Squash.
Gallery
Variations of Guinness Curry
I'm not shy about adding liquor to recipes. It's a fun way to add a little bit of a spice and mix things up. And, as fond as I am of adding Guinness to everything from curry to shepherd's pie! There are other liquors to add. I'm just as fond of adding a splash of wine to pasta sauces or even to poach salmon in it.
Liquor also cooks out fairly quickly, so you don't have to worry about getting tipsy with dinner! And it adds a touch of sweetness to a dish. Especially when slowly cooked over a longer period of time.
This Guinness curry combines a sort of Wisconsin beer cheese soup with a Thai-inspired curry for a delectable mix of wintry favorites. It consists of roasted ambercup squash, ginger, shallots, garlic, Guinness, coconut milk, and an assortment of nutmeg, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
I used Ambercup Squash in this recipe. This takes a couple of hours and requires aluminum foil and a baking dish. I am a big fan of ambercup squash. It's a medium-sized variety with dense flesh and a lot of flavor. You can easily substitute butternut squash, pie pumpkin, or other gourd of choice.
Curry
Add all of the ingredients, except for the carrots, potatoes, broccoli, and tofu (add all of the seasoning ingredients, but not the larger produce or tofu yet!).
Simmer for at least 2-4 hours. You want the liquid to reduce in half. If it’s reducing too quickly, add water and turn down the temperature. If it isn’t reducing fast enough, bring to a boil again and reduce to a slightly higher temperature.The longer that you cook, the more the flavors will permeate the ingredients, so simmering at a lower temperature for longer is always an option. I’ll sometimes lower the temperature to a very light simmer and pretty much leave it be for 6-8 hours.
Fry Tofu
Drain the tofu and cut in half if you're using a container. Wrap in paper towels to absorb the moisture.It's important to absorb as much water out of the tofu as you can. Oil is less dense than water, so the molecules repel one another. With cold ingredients, this causes separation. When you're frying, though, this can cause boiling hot oil to spray back at you.
Meanwhile, preheat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
When the skillet has preheated and the majority of the water has absorbed into the paper towels, carefully add the tofu to the skillet.
Fry until golden brown. This should take about 2-4 minutes. Rotate until all sides are evenly fried.
Remove from heat and wrap again in paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Serve
Serve either immediately or the next day.Curry will continue to the absorb the spices the more time passes. It’s one of those dishes that I like to make ahead of time because it often tastes better after the flavors have had time to set overnight.
Leave a Reply