Thai Mussaman curry with ambercup squash

Squash is often used in Thai curries, which I suppose is because the texture is meaty and substantial enough to be used as an alternative to meat. Of course I may be totally incorrect and it's used because of it's nutty, sweet taste and the contrast it provides, (which I just read on a Thai cooking site). I read that butternut squash is extremely popular and a lightly curried squash soup is gaining popularity there, but I have tasted curries with other types of squash also. 

 

For this curry I used orange squash, (really, that's what it's called), or ambercup squash if you'd like a more elegant name. Similar to butternut, it's amber flesh becomes soft and creamy when cooked and roasting it first brings out a nutty bitterness that contrasts well with the sweet, sour curry sauce. 

 

Recipe : Mussaman curry with squash, dried shrimps and potatoes.

I used a packet mix for the sauce. Mussaman curry is the most complicated of all the Thai curries to make, drawing influences from India. If you are prepared to spend time and effort making the sauce yourself, you will be handsomely rewarded. Considering the miserable, dreary Monday I've tolerated today, perhaps I should have made it from scratch just to take my mind off the weather. Anyway, this curry usually has potatoes in it. 

1/2 ambercup squash, cut in half, seeds scooped out with a spoon

1 tbsp peanut oil

salt and pepper

1 pack of Mussaman curry paste (I use Lobo brand) 

1 tin coconut milk

1/2 onion, peeled and cut into thick slices

1 baby eggplant, quartered

3 small potatoes, peeled and halved

1 bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks

a handful of dried shrimps

1/2 tin bamboo shoots

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp fish sauce

1/2 tbsp cane sugar

handful of pumpkin seeds

First, roast the squash. Preheat the oven to 400oF and place the halved squash in a roasting dish. Drizzle with oil and season with the salt and pepper and roast for about 45 minutes until it's really soft. Remove from the oven, let it cool a little and then spoon the flesh from the skin. Try to keep some large chunks whole, but don't worry if it's so soft it starts to fall apart.

Shake the coconut milk well and pour into a pan over medium heat. Add the curry paste and stir well until the mixture is boiling and you can notice the oil starting to float on the top of the sauce. 

Add all the other ingredients, including the squash, (except the fish sauce, sugar and pumpkin seeds) and bring to a slow boil. 

Cover and cook on medium heat until the potatoes and eggplant are soft and the curry smells rich and spicy. 

Taste the curry and add some of the fish sauce and sugar, taste again and adjust to your liking with a little more of each, (remember Thai curries should have a nice balance of sweet, salty, sour and spicy, but at the end of the day, it's your curry and your taste buds).

Serve with some rice if you like and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. I ate mine like a thick soup with some bread to dip in.