1 week Ago
Columnist Christine Burns Rudalevige prepares Khao Soi, a Northern Thai curry chicken noodle soup, as a way to clean out her fridge and pantry, and get an excellent dinner in the process. Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald “The cultured butter is going to be OK. But what about this fancy caviar I got for Christmas?” my bestie Elizabeth asked.
She had the unenviable task of emptying the refrigerator that had conked out on her while we were on a girls’ hiking weekend. Nothing in the defunct freezer drawer in her suburban Boston home was salvageable. She lost cob-smoked bacon from Vermont, four quarts of chicken broth made with a stewing hen from Apple Creek Farm in Bowdoinham, and several servings of perfectly cooked black beans grown at Fairwinds Farm , also in Bowdoinham.
Both farms have tables at the Brunswick Farmers Market that she visits whenever she’s in Maine visiting me. “Sadly, this is NOT my idea of spring cleaning!” she said. Elizabeth’s forced cleanse notwithstanding, your entire larder, especially those back corners of the fridg.
e and hard-to-reach top pantry shelves, could probably use a good airing out as each season changes. Food safety experts say the process helps eaters avoid food poisoning, while green-eating advocates say it helps cooks curb food waste. While Elizabeth was more worried about the former, I’m here to offer a four-point plan to pleasurably use up colder-weather pantry items before your attention is lured away by shiny new spring produce.
Mise en place: Chopped, blanched and/or sautéed spring vegetables and herbs are the components of a spicy Asian soup that is the happy result of organizing fridge and pantry. Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald 1. Remove everything from the shelves.
This gives you the room to wipe down all surfaces with an environmentally friendly disinfecting solution. It also allows you to take inventory of the food you forgot you had. For me, that list comprised three cans of Trader Joe’s coconut milk and a near-empty jar of peanut butter out of reach in a high cupboard, two kinds of curry paste hiding in plain sight within my mustard collection on the fridge door, a pint of mushrooms and a limp watermelon radish in the crisper, and a tub of Asian egg noodles and a package of chicken thighs I bought back in September in the freezer.
2. Be mindful when you put things back. Here, two restaurant organization concepts apply: Like with like.
And, first in, first out. If I line up my cans of coconut milk shoulder to shoulder, I will know not to waste my money buying more until I’ve used up my supply. And if the can with the closest “best by” date is in front, I’ll remember to use it up before turning to the newer cans.
3. Strategize how best to incorporate the older ingredients you uncovered in the fridge and pantry with the new local spring produce coming to a farmers market near you. Cleaning out the larder for spring is not an all-or-nothing proposition.
I am not advocating that you bypass all springtime culinary delights until you’ve eaten the winter cupboard bare. Rather, try for an 80-20 split, with the bulk of the dishes you serve during this shoulder season tapping your reorganized larder with springtime produce, like local asparagus and kale raab, treated more like a garnish. 4.
Make dinner. The meal that arrived on my dinner table from my spring clean-out-the-larder exercise is this green riff on a Northern Thai coconut curry noodle soup called Khao Soi, which my son introduced me to when he lived in Los Angeles. With it, my oversupply of mushrooms, red curry paste, frozen chicken, Chinese egg noodles and coconut milk deliciously dwindled.
Khao Soi, a Northern Thai curry chicken noodle soup, Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald Northern Thai Curry Chicken Noodle Soup (Khao Soi) Sauté the mushrooms and steam the vegetables while the soup is cooking. Serves 2 4 chicken drumsticks or 2 chicken thighs Coarse salt 2 tablespoons red curry paste 2 tablespoons chopped ginger 3/4 cup sliced red onion 1 cup baby spinach 1/4 cup chopped cilantro stems and 1/4 cup cilantro leaves 1 can coconut milk Vegetable oil 2 cups chicken broth 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon fish sauce 1 tablespoon brown sugar 12 ounces fresh egg noodles, cooked 1/2 cup sautéed mushrooms 1 cup steamed green vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, watermelon radish, and/or snow peas 1 lime, cut into wedges Season the chicken with salt and let sit at room temperature while you make the sauce. In a blender, combine the curry paste, ginger, 1/2 cup red onion, spinach, cilantro stems and coconut milk.
Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to a heavy-bottomed pot and place over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add the chicken, skin side-down. Cook the chicken without touching it until the skin is golden brown, 5-6 minutes.
Turn it over and cook for 5 minutes more. Add blended coconut sauce and the broth. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is tender, about 40 minutes.
Remove from heat, and stir in the soy sauce, fish sauce and brown sugar. Divide the noodles between 2 bowls. Place 1 piece of chicken in each bowl.
Pour the hot broth into the bowls. Arrange the mushrooms and steamed vegetables into the bowls. Garnish with the lime wedges, the remaining 1/4 cup red onion slices and the cilantro leaves.
Serve hot. A reorganized cupboard helps to minimize food waste. Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers.
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