1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 tablespoon Red Curry Paste (see recipes in Chapter 1)

½ cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon Tamarind Concentrate (see recipe on page 18)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2½ cups green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths

1 yellow or red bell pepper, seeded and julienned

2 cups bamboo shoots

2½ cups baby spinach leaves

2 cups bean sprouts

• To make the sauce, heat the vegetable oil in a small sauté pan on medium-high. Add the minced shallot and fry until golden. Transfer the fried shallot to paper towels to drain.

• Using a mortar and pestle, crush half of the sesame seeds and half of the fried shallots together; set aside.

• In a small saucepan, combine the Red Curry Paste and the coconut milk, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add the tamarind, brown sugar, fish sauce, and the reserved sesame seed? shallot mixture. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.

• Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the green beans, the bell pepper pieces, and the bamboo shoots to the water and blanch for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until done to your liking. Using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables from the water to a colander to drain.

• Let the water return to boiling and add the spinach leaves and the bean sprouts. Immediately remove them from the water to drain.

• Toss all of the vegetables together.

• To serve, place the vegetables in the center of a serving plate. Pour some of the sauce over the vegetables. Pass additional sauce separately.