It all began with morning chitter-chatter with one of my best friends and coworkers, Ava, when we were bringing the horses out to their paddocks. We were sharing how our weekend was, what we did, and funny moments that were just too good to text.
One of the highlights of her weekend was ordering takeout from the China House in Edgartown with her boyfriend. I, too, like getting takeout there with my boyfriend Ben; it’s our go-to almost every month, and we have sampled just about the entire menu. I asked her what her favorite menu item was. She said, “Oh, obviously, the green Thai curry shrimp.”
In my head, I visualized the bottom left corner of the tri-folded China House menu in my glovebox. That was the only corner of the menu that didn’t have scribbles, circles, or stars on it from my previous orders. Uncharted territory. She said, “Next time you go, you have to try it,” and hearing the certainty in her voice, I promised her I would.
The time came, and Ben and I decided it was Chinese takeout for dinner. He was riffing off some of our favorites, and I cut him off to say, “I want Thai curry shrimp — the green one.” He looked at me puzzled: “Are you sure?” I said “Yes, Ava told me to try it, and I promised her I would.”
We placed our order over the phone, picked it up, and he was unbagging the order at my place and putting it on the counter. I gasped and said, “Oh no! They messed up our order.” He said, “I don’t think so.” I pointed at the container that looked like soup that had been sitting in the back of the fridge for a year.
“What on earth is that!?”
“That’s your Thai curry shrimp.”
My heart sank, Ava knows I do not like soup. Why would she even suggest this dish to me?
Feeling slightly betrayed that my best friend forgot I didn’t like soup, I gave it a shot over the jasmine rice. At this point, I was thankful I ordered lo mein as a backup.
The fragrances of the dish danced around my nose, and I took a bite. It was mouthwatering. A sweet heat my palette has never had before, the coconut milk balanced the spicy green chili flavor just right. I kept eating, and each bite seemed to offer me something new. Swimming in the green chili coconut broth, which had turned into more of a slurry over the rice, were green peppers, broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts, baby corn, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, snap peas, white onion, and, of course, the shrimp — which were the honkers, not the puny ones. Plenty of variety in the dish to keep me from getting bored, and leaving me wanting more. When I finished up the leftovers the following day, the flavors had blended and the spiciness was much more prominent. I love spice, so it was a nice surprise.
Monday came, and Ava and I were turning out the horses; I was ecstatic to tell her I tried her green curry shrimp recommendation. I told her how much I loved it, and couldn’t wait to go back the following weekend to get it again. I didn’t tell her I thought she forgot I didn’t like soup — I don’t think she forgot at all, she likely knows me better than I think.
The curry craving stays in my head throughout the week, and each weekend, when time permits, I pop over to China House for the green curry. It’s been four weeks now, but who’s counting?