Kang Phet Fak Thong

If you try this dish in the States it would be called "Red curry with pumpkin"; in Thai it translates as curry, hot, pumpkin. I made it the other night for supper. My neighbor (the one that helped me last Friday) came and helped me again this time. It turned out pretty good...better than the last time I made a curry in Lopburi (October archives).
So, I know you can buy the red curry paste and the coconut milk and even the jasmine rice (smells SO good when you cook it!) in the States but if you want to add a little twinge of something different, add pumpkin! It's really good with pumpkin and it's cheaper than green or red peppers (at least here that is). In fact, it sorta cracks me up because here in Thailand it's very rare to get a dish with green peppers in it but in the States green peppers come in almost all Thai food. I guess they have to improvise...peppers are over $2 for one here! Pictured below is the curry over rice. Normally you would have it in a small soup bowl to the side of your plate with rice. I also wanted to point out the place setting. Notice the spoon on the right and the fork on the left of the plate. Thai people don't eat with knives UNLESS they are eating a steak (which is very rare). So, you hold the spoon in your right hand and use your fork to shove food onto your spoon. Thais do not eat off of their forks either. Very different than eating at an American table! PJ has almost mastered this skill and gets so upset when his food winds up on his fork instead of his spoon.