Being the more non-traditional food inclined guy that I am I often discover recipes that sound really interesting to me but I know may meet with resistance when presented to my lovely wife. She's the most wonderful, caring girl you could ever meet but she's been raised on comfort foods. Things like string beans and ham, mac and cheese, fried porkchops were all staples in her house growing up. So you can see how things that are interesting to me as a foodie could be rather confusing and non-comforting to a traditionalist.
I discovered this dish on Serious Eats last year and debated on exactly how to present it to my wife. Eventually, I opted for the "Shock and Awe" approach. I had a day that I was off work with time to spare and the grocery store was right on the way home. By the time she arrived at home the coconut milk was bubbling merrily in the pot. Her suspicions where soon gone when the dish was finally complete and I presented her with another culture's comfort food.
Rich and thick, this stew behaves exactly like you would expect it to. It sticks to your ribs and warms you all over, wrapping you in the comfort of home. The flavor is an excellent compromise for me and my wife. She gets the familiarity of rice and a creamy sauce and I get the wonderful flavors of the ginger and coconut milk. I'm happy to whip up a batch of this as often as my wife requests it and she requests it regularly. So don't be put off by "interesting" ingredients this dish is truely comfort food.
Serious Eats: Acorn Squash, Shrimp, and Green Bean Stew (Ginataan Sitawa Kalabasa)
