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By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, March 1, 2000

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Eggplant Satay, front, and Green Curry with shrimp and
vegetables, back left, are accompanied by a
bowl of sticky rice.

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Student misses
Thai favorites

When you love Thai food, those flavors stay with you, no matter how far you travel from your favorite restaurant.

The heat of the curry, the tang of the kaffir lime, the smooth richness of the coconut milk -- it's all the stuff tasty memories are made of.

Carol Lum is attending graduate school in Seattle, temporarily removed from the Eggplant Satay she grew to love at Thai Valley Cuisine in Kalama Valley, on the Hawaii Kai end of the island. "I love eggplant in all ways, shapes, and forms," Lum says.

She's planning to move back this summer, but in the meantime she's after Thai Valley's satay recipe -- and a recipe for Green Curry as well.

Carole Thirakoun, chef and co-owner of Thai Valley, was happy to provide both.

Thirakoun arrived in Hawaii in 1980 from Laos, by way of San Francisco. She began her training at age 9 in the family kitchen, Laotian cooking being very similar to Thai.

She's always worked two or three jobs, with cooking being just one way of making ends meet. Thirakoun's resume includes seven years with Keo Sananikone, as well as time with the Shanghai and Mekong restaurants.

In 1994, she and partner Ron Ching opened Thai Valley Cuisine, yet Thirakoun still has a second job -- bartending until 2 a.m. Her primary concern, though, is the food at the restaurant.

Her focus, she says, is on natural tastes, and she uses less oil, more water, in keeping with customers' desires to eat healthier. She also can meet requests for dishes for diabetics or vegans.

What makes the satay so special? "I guess it's the sauce," her partner, Ching, says. "Every restaurant would have their own recipe. We find customers are happy with ours."

The satay also comes made with chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, fish or tofu. To sample those, visit the small neighborhood restaurant in the Kalama Village Center. Call 395-9746.

EGGPLANT SATAY

2-1/2 cups Japanese eggplant, cut in 3/4-inch wedges
Oil for frying
1/2 cup Satay Sauce (recipe follows)

Batter
1 cup cornstarch
1 egg
1/3 teaspoon fish sauce
Pinch sugar
1/3 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon prepared red curry paste (May Ploy Brand, if possible)
6 ounces coconut milk

To make batter: Combine all ingredients except coconut milk, mixing by hand until smooth. Add milk and mix well.

Coat eggplant in batter and fry in hot oil until brown and crispy, about 8 minutes.

Serve on a bed of sliced cabbage with satay sauce poured over. Garnish with chopped cilantro, chopped onion and fried garlic. Serves 2.

Leftover batter may be refrigerated 3-4 days.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (with sauce but without garnish): 860 calories, 70 g total fat, 24 g saturated fat, 110 mg cholesterol, greater than 860 mg sodium.*

SATAY SAUCE

1-1/4 teaspoon red curry paste (May Ploy Brand, if possible)
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3-3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped lemongrass (use bottom 1/3 of stalk only)
1/2 teaspoon chopped kaffir lime leaves
1-2/3 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 cup canned coconut milk
1-1/4 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter

Combine all ingredients except water, coconut milk and peanut butter. Cook over medium heat 5-7 minutes. Add water and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add peanut butter, stirring well. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes, until oil rises to the top. Skim oil and discard.

Serve with grilled meats, eggplant or tofu.

Refrigerate leftover sauce up to 14 days.

Approximate nutritional information, per 2-tablespoon serving: 90 calories, 7 g total fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 280 mg sodium.*

GREEN CURRY

1 tablespoon prepared green curry paste (May Ploy Brand, if possible)
1/4 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup water
8 ounces coconut milk
1 cup eggplant, in 3/4-inch wedges
1/3 cup sliced bamboo shoots
2/3 cup, long beans, in 1-inch slices
1 2-inch piece lemongrass (use bottom 1/3 of stalk only)
1 kaffir lime leaf
1 teaspoon sugar
4-1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
10 shrimp, 21/30 count size, peeled
1/4 cup Thai sweet basil
1/4 large red bell pepper, sliced
Thai red chile pepper, sliced (optional; amount to taste)

Mix green curry paste and oil; cook over medium heat 1-2 minutes, stirring to prevent burning. Add water and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add eggplant, bamboo shoots, beans, lemongrass, lime leaf, sugar, fish sauce and lemon juice. Cook another 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is tender.

Add shrimp, basil, bell pepper and Thai chile (optional). Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 1 minute, or until shrimp is cooked but still tender. Serves 2.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 395 calories, 26 g total fat, 21 g saturated fat, 125 mg cholesterol, greater than 2,000 mg sodium.*

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.