I feel like I’m becoming tight with the ethnic foods aisle in my grocery store. For someone who used to only peruse said aisle to buy soy sauce, my refrigerator is now filled with all kinds of Asian condiments like Sriracha, coconut milk, hoisin sauce, peanut sauce, sesame oil, teriyaki sauce and sambal oelek. These flavorful items have become my best friends in a pinch. I throw no less than two or three of them into a bowl of ground turkey for making burgers and when my cupboard is growing scarce, my go-to dinner is usually a bowl of whole-wheat thin spaghetti swirled with a mixture of several Asian sauces – the hotter the better. Despite comfort with my expanding pallet, there was something about the small, unassuming bottle of green curry paste that had my knees shaking when I opened it. With an unappealing smell and an even more unappealing appearance, I questioned my judgement in deciding to try these Green Curry Fritters. What was I getting myself into? Had I finally gone too far?

Ground chicken is mixed with panko crumbs and scallions before being smothered in a mixture of mayonnaise, green curry paste, sesame oil, soy sauce, sambal oelek, ginger and egg. The mixture is flattened into patties and cooked in a hot pan with canola oil until browned and fully cooked. These fritters are salty, spicy and get a bite from the scallions. Don’t be confused by the name of these fritters because they are basically Asian-flavored sliders. And don’t be intimidated by the green curry paste. These fritters are packed with bold flavor and don’t have an overwhelming curry flavor which comes with curry powder. In fact, I didn’t taste curry at all, just bold tasty flavors. I ate my fritters with a simple side salad but these would be great with cabbage slaw as the recipe suggests because the cool cabbage would help to tone down the heat from the sambal oelek. Of course, my tongue was loving every second of the heat making me a big fan of these. I’m eating these fritters for lunch this week and getting compliments on how good my lunch smells. Whether you like curry or not, I suggest giving these a try. You just mind find a new condiment to like. Even if it’s kind of ugly-looking.

The ingredients:

Place panko, scallions, and ground chicken in a large bowl.

Combine mayonnaise, green curry paste, sesame oil, soy sauce, sambal oelek, salt, ginger and egg in another bowl.

Add green curry mixture to chicken mixture; mix lightly until combined. Divide into 12 equal portions; gently shape each portion into a small patty (do not pack).

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to pan; swirl. Add 6 patties to pan; cook 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure.

Serve with salad or cabbage slaw.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

• Ground ginger

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine