I am always alerted that Lent has started when I see the signs for fish fillet Fridays at McDonald's.  This is then always followed by Boyfriend announcing mournfully "Remember, only fish on Fridays for me."  I don't personally observe Lent, but to help Boyfriend, I'll go along with it if I'm eating with him on Fridays.

For me, the idea of not eating meat on Fridays really isn't a big deal because while I love meat, I also love seafood.  But for Boyfriend, giving up meat one day a week is a huge deal, which I guess is why it makes sense that he does so for Lent.

For some reason, Boyfriend seems to think that giving up meat on Fridays means he can only eat fish fillet from McDonald's on Fridays.  I've pointed out that there are many other options…To help ease the pain of Fish Fridays, I made him a big pot of seafood curry last Friday.

Boyfriend loves curry. He always wants to order it when he sees it on the menu.  For the curry I make, I use the premixed curry sauce cubes.  There are several brands that exist which you can find at Asian supermarkets.  I haven't noticed much of a difference in taste between the different brands.  I just buy whatever is on sale.

On this occasion, I used this Golden Curry Brand.

On the back of the box, there are directions to follow.  You can put whatever ingredients you want in your curry.  I always put potatoes and carrots.  And I usually put chicken, but since this was seafood curry, I put shrimp and fishballs and squid rings.  My cooking directions are roughly as follows:

1. Take half of a medium sized onion and dice into small slices.  Saute the onion in a large saucepan, wok, or pot.

2. Once the onions are cooked, add in your other ingredients.  I usually first add things that will take longer to cook like potatoes and chicken, and add other vegetables or seafood last.

3.  After cooking the ingredients for a few minutes (your food should only be partially cooked), add in approximately 4 cups of water.  Then add in the curry cubes and bring to a low boil.  I usually use two curry cubes (By cube, I don't mean the entire thing.  There are usually a four cubes that are connected and need to be broken off like a chocolate bar.)  Mix the contents of your curry so that the curry cube dissolves and is distributed evenly.  As you cook, the mixture should begin to thicken.  You may need more curry cubes and water if you are cooking a large amount of food.

4.  Once all the food is fully cooked and the curry cubes are fully dissolved, your curry is ready to serve.  Serve with steamed rice.