I'm trying to recreate a dish I had at Alinea a while ago. Their forum actually had a good start for this dish:
The garnishes on the surface are
Hawaiian volcanic salt, cucumber,
garlic chips, fresh banana, young
coconut, red onion, lime segments with
zest, toasted cashews, and red chili
pudding. The glass circle contains a
basil seed-lime vinaigrette.We press the herbs in between two
pieces of rice paper to form the
centerpiece. Once the frame is
assembled the server drapes the flag
over the frame. We cure the pork belly
with salt, sugar and aromatics. It is
cooked sous vide until tender, seared
and shredded. We make a curry sauce
from coconut, ginger, mint,
lemongrass, thai chilis, kaffir lime,
cardamom, coriander, and lime juice.
We mix the curry with the shredded
pork belly to make the ragu spooned
over tableside by the service staff.
My question is, given the list of ingredients for the coconut curry but no sense of how to make it, how should I go about preparing this curry? Should I just toss everything in a pot an simmer for a while? Should I toast the spices? Sautee the lemongrass?
Best Answer
I don't know if this is how it is done at Alinea, but considering that it is geared towards a modernist dish, not a traditional Thai curry, this is what I would do:
(1) Pound the lemongrass. Toast and then then grind the coriander. Bruise the kaffir lime leaf. Leave those to infuse in the lime juice for at least one hour and up to overnight.
(2) Remove the lemongrass and lime leaf. Combine the infused lime juice with all of the other ingredients, including the coconut milk without heating. Puree. Salt to taste. Strain very thoroughly. If needed, thicken slightly with xanthan gum or ultratex (as they don't require heating).
I suggest this because I know @gachatz's philosophy is to avoid diluting or muddying flavors, and I think this approach would keep them very fresh and distinct.