Thai Red Curry with Chicken & Vegetables

Thai food makes me happy! I love all the exotic spices and flavors associated with it. A good curry is a harmony of many different flavors working together to become one. Fortunately for the home cook, many grocery stores now sell Thai curry paste in their Asian food section, which makes it much easier to make a good curry at home. I tried this recipe recently when, Oh joy, I had everything on hand to make the dish. Husband & I loved it!

I wanted more spice and curry flavor so I added a few more tablespoons of red curry paste. I also added mushrooms, celery and broccoli to the simmering curry, although I waited until the end of cooking to add the broccoli and snap peas so they would be bright green and crisp tender. Serve with steamed rice and enjoy!

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Thai Red Curry with Chicken & Vegetables

-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

This recipe is easily adaptable to serve meat-lovers and vegetarians alike: see the variation below to serve one vegetarian. Serve with jasmine rice. Serves four.

 

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

3 Tbs. red Thai curry paste

2 cups snap peas, trimmed and cut in half on the diagonal

2 large shallots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced into 2-inch-long strips

One 13.5- to 14-oz. can coconut milk

6 wild lime leaves (magrut or kaffir lime;optional)

1 Tbs. light brown sugar

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 5), cut into 1- to 1-1/2-inch pieces

1 cup loosely packed Thai basil (or regular basil, torn into small pieces)

2 Tbs. fish sauce, more to taste

1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. fresh lime juice

Kosher salt

 

Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 20 seconds. Take the pan off of the heat and stir in the snap peas, shallots, pepper, coconut milk, lime leaves (if using), sugar, and 1 cup water. Stir to combine.

Add the chicken, bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the basil, fish sauce, and lime juice. Let rest off the heat for 5 minutes. Season to taste with fish sauce or salt.

Variations:

To serve 1 vegetarian and 3 meat-lovers: After stirring in the vegetables, coconut milk, lime leaves, and water, transfer about 1 cup of the curry mixture to a 2-quart saucepan. To this smaller pan, add 4 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in 2 tsp. soy sauce, 1/4 cup of the basil, and 1 tsp. of the lime juice.

With the remaining curry mixture in the 3-quart saucepan, finish the master recipe above to serve the 3 meat lovers, reducing the amount of chicken to 12 oz.