Vegetable curry delights

If you like curry, this is one of those dishes that you'd swallow up a few bowls at a time, and then lay on the couch and... BURP! The Malaysian Penang curry is a fine blend of spices that makes a great soup even with just vegetables. It's rich in spices, but otherwise neither too salty, nor too spicy, nor oily. So it can be eaten just by itself. Of course the stock plays a significant role. I like to use a very thick meat stock made from bone with joints. When I prepare this stock, I boil the bones first to get the meat off (giving a stock of rich meat-flavor), then, I boil the bones a second round with vinegar and for at least 4 hours to extract the gelatin. It's this jelly that makes a thick stock, perfect for making Penang curry without using coconut milk. In this recipe, the primary ingredients are the kappa cabbage and the eggplant. I use a little cabbage to give the soup some chunky bites, and a little red bean to make the curry richer in texture.


Recipe: Vegetable Penang curry (for 2-4)


Ingredients:
- 2 cup stock from bone joints
- 2-3 tablespoon (TB) Penang curry paste
- 1 star of anise
- 1/2 lb kappa cabbage, chopped to 1" pieces
- 1/2 eggplant, chopped to 1" pieces
- 2-3 stem of cabbage, chopped to small pieces
- 1/2 cup red beans, soaked for 3 days
- 1/4 onion chopped to 1" pieces
- water


Procedure:
1. Boil red beans, cabbage, onion and star of anise in stock and 1 cup of water on med-high heat for 1-2 hours or until beans have opened up. If softer bean texture is preferred, boil for one more hour. While boiling beans, stir occasionally and add water to keep beans well covered by liquid. When beans are done, add
Penang curry paste. Mix well and let cook for 15 minutes. Then let sit for 1-2 hours without heat. 
2. Ten minutes before serving, heat up bean curry. Add water to make up to 3 cups of liquid and stir well. Add eggplant and let cook for 5 minutes on high heat. Then add kappa cabbage and continue cooking on high heat for another 5 minutes. Serve.