A trip to the Asian market, light thai curry noodles, and an off-dry gewürtztraminer

I like Asian markets and so should you.

Collin (my good friend and roommate) and I were traipsing around Clairemont Mesa Blvd one afternoon, finding a way to kill time as his car was getting serviced when we became inspired to pay a visit to a notorious asian supermarket in the area.  Tucked in between dated strip malls and fast food establishment lies Ranch 99 Market; a San Diego fixture and treasure trove of asian edibles.  Needless to say, a trip for specialty teas, tsing tao beer and some exotic fruits Collin had developed a taste for during his extensive travel through south east Asia, became a rabid shopping spree that would fill our pantry with plenty of asian staples.  In the midst of some random purchases we decided to plan a dish that would be fresh, unique and please my sister and friends who were to come over for dinner later that evening.  However, before I begin to explain the following dish I would like to let all those not in the know in on a little secret.  Produce, fish and meats at asian markets (or at least this one) are CHEAP!  And not only do they have all the products we would consider conventional, but specialty items that no other market  carries.  Hence,I urge anyone, whether looking for specialty items or not to visit Ranch 99 or similar.

The dish:

I have always enjoyed making curry dishes.  Over the past few years I have experimented with many different sauce recipes, often heavy and rich.  Being that it was summer I wanted to try a different, fresher and lighter approach to the classic yellow curry attempts I had made prior.    

Making the sauce:

For this particular sauce I used a base of light coconut milk, chicken stock, and the juice of one whole lime.  The coconut milk and chicken stock may be proportioned to taste - i.e. the more coconut milk the thicker the sauce and vice versa.

In addition to this I added Madras curry (any basice yellow curry will do), brown sugar, plenty of chopped garlic, fresh ground pepper, salt to taste, and a touch of sriracha hot sauce (the one with the chicken on it).

On low-med heat the sauce should be reduced to a viscosity that you the chef, desires - as well as stirred occasionally.

The Fix-ins:

As the protein of this dish I chose fresh tiger prawns.  I will always get fresh prawns normally tail on, because pre-cooked flat out suck.  

The prawns are best de-veined and tail off for this dish.

They are then sautéed in a wok with sesame oil and a touch of salt and pepper

Add them to the sauce in accordance with the next step, noodles.

Finishing the Dish:  Angel Hair-esque rice noodles were used for this dish - boiled although in hindsight they should have been prepared as such...

Add rice noodles in desired proportion to sauce and cover pan/pot with lid for a few minutes to let noodles soften.  Stir into sauce and add the previously cooked prawns, continue to stir to blend all components evenly.

The last ingredient used was a leafy herb that Collin encountered in Laos.  The name escapes me at the moment but it tasted like lemongrass crossed with basil and had a spicy ginger like finish.  Anyway, several leaves were roughly chopped and added at the last minute as not to wilt.

Finally, grated persian cucumber was rolled into balls and placed on top of each dish to balance the heat and spice of the dish.  Garnished with another leaf of said Laotian herb and a few drops of sriracha for color and taste, and thats it.  

(The Laotian mystery herb could be substituted with a bit of basil and mint.  Adding some thai lime or thai lemon leaves to the sauce and then removing before mixing in the rest of the ingredients would be a nice touch too).

Ingredients Needed:  

The Sauce:

Light Coconut Milk

Chicken Stock

Limes

Madras Curry

Sriracha Hot Sauce

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

Rice Noodles

Fresh Prawns/Shrimp

Sesame Oil

Laotian Mystery Herb (...or basil and mint)

Le Vin:

I brought out a pretty standard "asian food" wine for this dinner.  A "budget" alsatian gewürtztraminer from Michel Leon that I picked up at Trader Joes for around 8 or 9 bucks.  I'm not going to review this one primarily because it was a long time ago that I drank it and can't remember enough details to describe it accurately, but I remember it being balanced, ripe and with a touch of residual sugar.  All in all I think this style of wine, properly chilled, is considered the "asian food" wine for the right reasons.  The freshness, ripeness and residual sugar coated the palate for a nice balance from the flavorful, salty and spicy noodle dish.  All I can say is that it worked and there are tons of wines like this out there that are go-to's when looking for something to eat with curry or stir fry.

Some suggestions: Dry or Off-Dry Riesling or Gewürtztraminer, Dry Muscat, Viognier