Since 2017, Root has built a youth Culinary Training Program, Alumni Employment Program, Social Enterprise, and Community Catering Initiative to address food insecurity. Root helps young adults gain independence through food service training and employment. Recently, JPF supported Root’s fundraising event, where alumni and local restaurant Settler prepared and served a menu featuring seasonal ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ½ onion, sliced
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
- 1 stalk lemongrass, minced
- 1 tablespoon Sambal
- ½ tablespoon cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon Madras curry powder
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 cup squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 pound jumbo lump crab meat, picked
- Freshly squeezed lime juice from 2 limes
- Salt
- Cilantro leaves, for garnish
- Lime wedges, for garnish
- Steamed white or brown jasmine rice, to serve
Method
- In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat, add the onions, garlic, ginger, and lemongrass and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the sambal, sugar, and curry powder and cook again until the mixture begins to caramelize and stick to the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to high and deglaze the pan with the fish sauce, stirring continuously. Add the squash and sauté for 2 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer gently until the curry mixture reduces by half, about 10 minutes. Add the crabmeat, stirring to gently heat through. Season with lime juice and salt.
- Serve with brown or white jasmine rice and garnish with cilantro leaves.
Squash and curry always make me think of the fall. When it’s cold outside, the warm spices in curry hug your soul and spark nostalgia as they blend so many cultures into one.