This morning my girlfriend Chris and I went out to a local farmers market and did some other shopping. We were having a hard time finding a market that was open when it was scheduled to be. Sometimes there was weather. Sometimes the website that is supposed to list when and where the markets happen would be wrong. On more than one occasion. It was getting frustrating.
But we found one that I remembered from last year was good and got some cucumbers, Thai and jalapeño peppers, and vegetables. Then stopped at the co-op for olive oil, and then the Vietnamese store for the rest of what I needed for curry. Because I decided I was going to make curry.
First I made the ginger cucumber salad that Chris likes. Then another batch of curry. At the farmers market I realized I had picked up lemon basil rather than Thai basil. (No, they don’t really look the same.) I’m playing with the herb and spice mix in curry anyway so that was fine.
The curry this time came out substantially better than the last one I made. And the last 3 were substantially better in different ways than any I had been making before. I’m not sure where the upper limit is but this one is one I think I’d pay money for. And yes, it does have a bit of a kick.
Though I seed the peppers which tones down the heat. And I could always use more or less Thai peppers to adjust heat too. In my last 3 attempts, I was using some frozen Thai peppers I had brought here last year. I’m not sure how much of a difference that is making.
So for science, I’ll be doing a taste test in the next few days. Small piece of frozen then defrosted Thai pepper vs fresh. Aldi store bought jalapeño pepper vs farmers market jalapeño. Eating / tasting small amounts of raw pepper and noting the result to see if one or the other seems more intense. I know, sort of a wacky idea. I’ll report back what I find.