Monday, January 24, 2011

Easy Thai Curry

One of the restaurants I was most looking forward to visiting once we moved back to the midwest was Thai Spice, which has a yellow chicken curry I've always adored.

One day not too long after we got back into town, I found myself seriously craving that chicken curry for lunch in the middle of a freezing winter day. However, it was a little hard to justify bundling up a car-hating baby and driving 45 minutes to get there (only to spend lunch chasing her around the restaurant). After some debate, I decided to take the plunge and try making something similar myself--even though Asian-inspired cuisine is the food that I've probably had the worst luck with over the years. Not feeling particularly optimistic, we picked up a few ingredients at the grocery store and got to work. Surprisingly, the results were delicious, especially given the simplicity of the ingredients and the ease of preparation. We've eaten it a couple times a week for lunch ever since--and haven't made it to Thai Spice yet.
Easy (Primal) Thai Curry

Ingredients:
2 cups sliced meat (I used boneless/skinless chicken breasts the first time, but beef, shrimp, even sausage all work great--or you can do a vegetarian version)
1 cup sliced vegetables (I use onions with the chicken curry; broccoli, peppers
A few tablespoons of oil or butter for frying
2 Tbsp curry paste (I used Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste, which is available at most grocery stores; one $3 bottle makes us approximately 3 batches of curry)
1 can coconut milk
1-2 tsp fish sauce (I used Thai Kitchen)
Squeeze of lime
Few leaves of basil (Thai or regular)

Over high heat, sear the meat in the oil. When cooked, remove to another bowl, then stir-fry the vegetables. Add the curry paste and stir to coat. Quickly add the coconut milk, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Return the meat to the pan and add fish sauce, squeeze of lime, and fresh basil to taste, stirring until heated through. Garnish with additional basil and serve immediately. Makes two large servings.

Served as is (without rice etc) it's deliciously warming and filling, high protein, low carb and primal. I've also added a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter, which is delicious as well.

1 comment:

Pam said...

I tried a Coconut Peanut Butter from Tropical Traditions yesterday. It was delicious (made only from coconuts and peanuts). Might be an interesting addition to this curry -- might also be an interesting item to try making yourself. Can't wait to try this curry. We've got snow coming tomorrow. I know, I know -- it's not the same. ;)