Asian Home Gourmet and Shun Knives

This evening, I decided to play around with my two latest culinary toys: my 8 inch Shun Chef’s Knife that I picked up at Williams-Sonoma when we were recently in Toronto, and a packet of Thai Red Curry paste from Asian Home Gourmet.

Asian Home Gourmet makes very interesting spice pastes for most Asian cuisines. Instead of dried spice mixes (which never really taste right to me), liquified sauces (which usually taste like watered down crap) or just making the right spice combo (which is fine for Japanese or Chinese food for me, but I never have access to galanga and some of the other exotic herbs needed for decent Thai food), they take the herbs and spices, grind them into a paste which can be easily added to whatever you are cooking to make a decent Thai-style curry. Today, it was:

• 500 grams chicken breast
• 2 Hungarian Paprikas (red, mildly spicy)
• Fresh Ginger, Fresh Garlic, Lemongrass
• Red chilis, sliced thin
• Cilantro
• Red Curry Paste
• Coconut Milk
• 1 Diced Avocado
• Fresh Red Onions, sliced

Sautee the chicken and paprikas, add the curry paste and coconut milk, add everything else, serve over jasmine rice.

And the knife? Amazing. I have always been a fan of Carbon Steel knives from Japan, but my last set succumbed to rust after years of use. The Shun knives are supposedly made with a steel that has the hardness of carbon steel, but does not rust. So far, so good – but time will truly tell with the knife.

Next time – Emerald Curry – and I won’t forget the fresh basil next time!