We spend a lot of time in Florida. We can’t get enough of the beaches, warm weather and sunshine. Anna Maria Island has been one of our favorite places to visit, and we have been there more times than I can count. In Bradenton, which is a town east, we have discovered a couple of restaurants to enjoy when I don’t feel like cooking. Thai Palace is one of our favorites. It is in a strip mall a couple of doors down from an amazing pupuseria that I will talk about in a future article. 

I have had everything on the menu of the Thai restaurant, but my wife always orders the crispy duck with red curry. It is delicious. I have been looking for a recipe for this dish online for a while now, but I can’t find one like the one they serve. I have been meaning to replicate a version of it and finally made a little time to. I have not asked, but it tastes like they use key lime juice to make the curry. I made my own version of it, and I am very happy with the results. 

I really enjoy all types of curries. When I began trying to understand the methods of making this style of Thai cuisine, I thought red, green, yellow, massaman and panang were the types of curry. As I keep learning, I realize they are more categories, rather than strict recipes. I have had and made dozens of each type, and they are distinct and delicious. I have been attempting to categorize each for myself. In classic French cooking, which is the foundation of my culinary education, sauces are named to define a particular combination of ingredients. Many sauces share the same foundational base, then other ingredients are added or substituted and that defines each new sauce. These sauce bases are called mother sauces, and I look at the types of curries like mother sauces because that helps me understand and remember them more efficiently. 

There is a certain order to assemble some curries. Starting with the creamiest part of the coconut milk and the curry paste, cook them together until all the water is cooked out of the coconut and you are left with the oil and the paste. This is when everything starts to sauté, and the mixture should “break” or appear curdled and almost oily. Garlic, ginger, lemongrass, galangal, shallot, lime leaves or other fun aromatics can be added next, which will cool the pan a bit and start to cook the new ingredients. Spices can be used next to give them a light toast if that is the type you are making. 

Foundational ingredients are now in the pan, so the main liquid is decided next, and coconut milk, stock or water are often used. For salt, fish sauce is my favorite, but soy sauce or just salt are options. Acidity in this style of cooking is something that took me a bit to appreciate as there are often several types used and added at different times. Tamarind paste and vinegar are good to add at this point in cooking, but it is better to add fresh lime juice at the very end with a little more fish sauce. To balance the acidity, different types of sugar are options such as palm sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar or whatever type you like. 

Now the sauce is ready to serve or add the meat and vegetables to be cooked. Straining the sauce is a matter of preference. I don’t mind eating around pieces of lemongrass, leaves or ginger, but if it bothers you, just pass the sauce through a strainer. Fresh herbs are something I need in these dishes. Cilantro, basil and mint are great. I hope you have a little fun and use your imagination to make your own favorite version of this delicious style food. 

Key lime red curry 

Ingredients

• 1 can coconut milk 
• 2 tablespoons of red curry paste 
• 2 inches of ginger, peeled and sliced thin 
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed 
• 1 lemongrass stalk, outer leaves removed, bruised with the back of a knife, cut into 2-inch pieces 
• 2 birds’ eye chilis, stems off and crushed 
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 1/4 cup heavy cream 
• 1/4 cup key lime juice 
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce 
• 1 teaspoon red curry paste 

Directions

1. Combine 1/4 cup coconut milk and 2 tablespoons red curry. 
2. Cook on medium heat until thick and fragrant. 
3. Add ginger, garlic, lemongrass and chilis. Cook for 1 minute. 
4. Add the rest of the coconut milk, brown sugar and tamarind paste. Bring to a simmer. 
5. Turn off the heat and add the remaining ingredients. 
6. Strain the sauce and reserve. 

Crispy duck

Ingredients

• 4 duck breasts, score the fat in crosshatch, seasoned with salt 

Breading batter

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup potato starch 
• 1/4 cup cake flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 2 each egg 
• 2 tablespoons cold water, maybe a little more 

Directions

1. Combine everything, and whisk until smooth but not too thin. 
2. Hold in the fridge. 
3. Coat the duck breasts in the batter. 
4. Fry at 350 degrees until desired doneness. 150-160 degrees is ideal for this scenario, but if you prefer your duck less done, adjust accordingly. 

Basil 

Directions

1. Fried at 350 degrees until crispy — no color. Drain. 

Vegetables 

Ingredients

• Broccoli florets 
• Mushrooms, quartered 
• Cabbage, 1-inch cuts 
• Small onion, medium diced 
• Red bell pepper, 1-inch cuts 
• Zucchini, cut in 1/4-inch pieces, or quarter moons 

Directions

1. Cook broccoli in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. 
2. Sauté each of the other vegetables in a little vegetable oil until just not raw, leave them with texture. 

Jasmine rice 

Directions

1. Cooked
2. Plate everything in a way that makes you happy. Top with fried basil. It looks nice and stays crispy. Enjoy!

About

Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management and Baking/Pastry, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.

Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.