Tropical Vegetables

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 tablespoon Red Curry Paste (see recipes in Chapter 1)

½ cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon Tamarind Concentrate (see recipe on page 18)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2½ cups green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths

1 yellow or red bell pepper, seeded and julienned

2 cups bamboo shoots

2½ cups baby spinach leaves

2 cups bean sprouts

1. To make the sauce, heat the vegetable oil in a small sauté pan on medium-high. Add the minced shallot and fry until golden. Transfer the fried shallot to paper towels to drain.
2. Using a mortar and pestle, crush half of the sesame seeds and half of the fried shallots together; set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, combine the Red Curry Paste and the coconut milk, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add the tamarind, brown sugar, fish sauce, and the reserved sesame seed? shallot mixture. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
4. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the green beans, the bell pepper pieces, and the bamboo shoots to the water and blanch for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until done to your liking. Using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables from the water to a colander to drain.
5. Let the water return to boiling and add the spinach leaves and the bean sprouts. Immediately remove them from the water to drain.
6. Toss all of the vegetables together.
7. To serve, place the vegetables in the center of a serving plate. Pour some of the sauce over the vegetables. Pass additional sauce separately.