Chicken Curry From Old Siam : Ingredients From Southeast Asian Grocery Will Add Flavor to Stir-Fried Dish

Dear SOS: The Chan Dara Siamese Kitchen serves a wonderful chicken curry, which I would love to duplicate and I know your readers would enjoy. How about it?

--FLO

Dear FLO: Chan Dara’s curry is terrific, and our kitchen tasting panel can vouch for that. You will need to pay a visit to a Southeast Asian grocery store for some of the ingredients, however.

CHAN DARA CHICKEN CURRY

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup red curry paste (kang pet dang)

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 chicken breast, boned and sliced

6 tablespoons fish sauce

2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 16 to 20 slices

2 carrots, cut into 16 to 20 slices

4 cups coconut milk

Heat oil in large skillet. Add red curry paste and curry powder. Stir-fry over high heat 1 minute. Add chicken, fish sauce, potatoes and carrots. Stir-fry until chicken is golden-brown.

Add coconut milk and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Dear SOS: About a year ago you printed a recipe for poppy seed bread made at Jessie Cates Restaurant in Puente Hills. I have since lost the recipe.

--JONI

Dear Joni: Yes, we have the recipe. A good holiday bread it is, too.

JESSIE CATES’ POPPY SEED BREAD

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

3 1/3 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 eggs

Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds in large bowl. Blend well. Mix oil, milk, vanilla and eggs in another bowl. Add dry ingredients to liquid ingredients. Mix at medium speed until smooth, about 4 minutes, scraping sides of bowl often.

Pour into 2 (8x4-inch) greased and wax paper-lined loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees 1 hour 25 minutes or until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 2 loaves.

Dear SOS: I believe I have the recipe Mary Anne requested for appetizer meatballs using Grape-Nuts flakes. Your recipe isn’t even close.

--TANYA

Dear Tanya: Thanks.

TANYA’S CHAFING DISH MEATBALLS

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 cup finely crushed crisp nutlike whole-wheat flakes

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon seasoning salt

1 tablespoon bottled steak sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 cup chopped mushrooms

Combine ground beef, crushed flakes, milk, seasoning salt, steak sauce and sugar. Shape into marble-size balls.

Grease skillet and heat. Add meatballs and brown on all sides, or place on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees 12 to 15 minutes or until brown. Place in chafing dish over low heat. Pour tomato sauce and mushrooms over meatballs and simmer until mushrooms are soft. Keep warm in chafing dish to serve. Makes 12 appetizer servings.

Dear SOS: A friend gave me a sample of Praline Pecan Halves that she had purchased, and I would like to make them for gifts during the holiday season. However, I can’t find a recipe among my many books. Do you have one?

--J.P.F.

Dear J.P.F.: We have a recipe for Praline Pecan Halves that sounds similar. See if it is.

PRALINE PECAN HALVES

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Mix sugars and milk in saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat to 234 to 236 degrees on candy thermometer, or to soft ball stage. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and pecans and beat until blended. Immediately drop by tablespoons onto well-greased baking sheet or wax paper. If candy becomes too stiff to drop, stir in few drops of cold water. Makes 1 pound.

Only recipes of general interest will be printed. We are unable to answer all requests. Please include restaurant address when requesting recipes from restaurants. Send your letter with self-addressed, stamped envelope to Culinary SOS, Food Section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.