Like this evening. I've been tiling the downstairs shower, and between little mosaic pieces that aren't the same thickness as the field tiles, combined with the fact that the nothing about that room is plumb or square, my head hurts along with my back by the end of the day. Enter one of our favorite places, Teapot, tucked away in a nondescript strip mall in Bellevue. This place inspires me. The first time we went there, on a recommendation from a friend, we tried their Jewel Box, an exquisite presentation of nuts and vegetables in a nori "box." But what made us regulars was their vegetable curry. It's a Singaporean curry, sweet from thick coconut milk, yellow from curry, and chock full of broccoli, tofu, potatoes and cabbage. We actually brought out the spoon to devour the sauce straight from the serving dish.
I liked it so much that I've learned to make it: brown yellow onions in oil, add curry and a bit of garam masala, add a can of coconut milk, some chunks of extra firm tofu (fried chunks are best), a few roughly cut cabbage leaves, some thinly sliced carrots and one coarsely chopped cooked potato. Simmer until tofu is warmed through, them put plenty of broccoli on top, and pop the lid on the pot to steam the broccoli for another ten minutes or so. Serve with rice steamed with a generous pinch of saffron.
Tonight the curry wasn't great--someone in the kitchen gave it a squirt of hot sauce, which none of us care for, but, since we try to taste a new dish each visit, all was not lost. The basil nuggets were out of this world, a deep savory sauce with sautéed onions, tomatoes and tofu chunks. The vermicelli vegetables were also light and delicious. Both are on their way to favorite status.
The problem now is that we have so many favorites, it's hard to decide which one we won't order to be able to try something new. We should all have such problems!
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