Three Forests · Episode one · the recipe
แกงหน่อไม้
kaeng no mai · bamboo shoot curry, the way we cook it at home
The film digs the shoots that morning and cooks over wood. This is the same pot on a gas ring, with what an American market carries. Where the film does something you can't, the line says what to do instead.
At the market, Super G or H Mart
- Bamboo shoots
- One vacuum pack (about 1 lb) of boiled whole bamboo shoots, sliced thin (H Mart, refrigerated Asian-vegetable case). Two 8 oz cans of sliced bamboo, rinsed, also work (any supermarket, international aisle). Fresh shoots, if an Asian grocer has them in season: peel to the pale core, slice thin, boil 15 minutes in fresh water. In the film: dug that morning, one boil, no drain. That keeps the bitterness on purpose.
- Chicken
- 1½ to 2 lb bone-in thighs or drumsticks. Ask the butcher to chop them through the bone into two-inch pieces, or leave them whole. In the film: a whole bird chopped on the block.
- Green water
- One can (about 14 oz) of yanang leaf extract, น้ำใบย่านาง, plus 2 cups water (H Mart Thai shelf, or any Thai grocer; Aroy-D and similar brands). If you can't find it, use 4 cups of water: the broth comes out browner and the taste barely moves. In the film: the leaves are kneaded in a basin of water and wrung out by hand.
- The paste
- 4 to 8 Thai bird's-eye chillies (the small red ones; supermarket produce or H Mart), 1 stalk lemongrass, tender inner part only, 4 shallots, 6 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and the fermented soybean: 1 tablespoon doenjang (Korean soybean paste, H Mart, near the gochujang). Thai shrimp paste, kapi, is the other choice and what most written recipes use; a tablespoon of either. In the film: a disc of thua nao, northern Thai fermented soybean, toasted over low coals. Almost impossible to find in the US.
- Seasoning
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce. Optional: 1 tablespoon bottled pla ra, sold as "fermented fish sauce" (Thai grocers). We leave out the crab paste, nam pu, in the home version.
- To finish
- A handful of fresh dill (any supermarket). Cha-om, acacia leaf, goes in too if a Thai grocer has it frozen; skip it if not.
- Rice
- Sticky rice (glutinous rice, H Mart), soaked 4 hours and steamed 20 minutes. Jasmine rice if that's what you have.
Tools
A 4-quart pot with a lid · a knife and board · a blender or small food processor for the paste (a mortar if you own one) · a steamer basket, or a microwave and a covered bowl, for the sticky rice.
Method, in the order the film cooks it
- Rice first. Drain the soaked sticky rice, steam 20 minutes, keep covered.
- Paste. Blend the chillies, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, salt and doenjang with a splash of water into a rough paste. Film: pounded in a stone mortar, salt and chilli first.
- Green water to the boil. Yanang extract plus water into the pot, medium heat, lid ajar. Stir in the paste; the green goes olive-brown with red flecks. That's right.
- Chicken in. Simmer 15 minutes, lid ajar, skimming once.
- Bamboo in. Add the sliced shoots to the boiling broth, not before. Simmer 10 minutes.
- Season. Fish sauce, and the pla ra if using. Taste: salty, a little bitter, hot.
- Dill last. Stir in the dill (and cha-om), one minute, off the heat. Serve in bowls with the sticky rice, pinched and dipped.
Our version follows แกงหน่อไม้เมืองเหนือ by Naruemon Aingarn on Cookpad, cookpad.com/th/recipes/16073090, with our household's changes: yanang green water, bone-in chicken, thua nao in the paste, one boil, dill to finish.