Friday Foods: Thai Red Chicken Curry

I have been branching out from the traditional "American" foods and trying some new things. This is SO easy (only uses one-pan) and very tasty. It really tastes like its take-out!

First, take a package of chicken - the amount doesn't really matter too much.... I use about a pound. If there's more people or you want leftovers, feel free to use a bit more. Chop up into bite sized pieces. Sear in a pan to brown, but don't worry about cooking all the way through. Add an onion and a few cloves of garlic, chopped.

Let it cook for a minute or two, and then add a can of coconut milk. I've been using regular, but I would assume the non-fat stuff would be okay, too! Chop up a red pepper to add. I've even added a green pepper before...whoa! crazy! No, but seriously - if you like lots of veggies, you can add more! At least one pepper and you get to choose the color. 

Take one lemon grass and place it on the counter top. Grab a rolling pin or a jar and pound it. Its really satisfying! There's a nice crunch. Ah. It releases the good flavors. Just put it into the pan whole - you'll remove it when you're done cooking.  Into the same pan grate some fresh ginger. If you are lazy, you can add a little bit of the spice. It just won't taste quite as good. Make about 3/4 of a cup of chicken stock and add it to the pan.

The special ingredient is Thai red curry paste. Add two tablespoons - more or less, depending on how spicy you want it. You also really need a tablespoon of soy sauce. This is really important - we made this once without any soy sauce and it felt like it was missing something. Lastly, take a handful of coriander (if you're British) or cilantro (if you're American) and chop it up. Towards the end of cooking, add about half of it, and the other half you can sprinkle on the top for some garnish.

You let it simmer all together until the sauce is a little thicker and the chicken is cooked. Somewhere around 15 minutes should be good. Serve with rice.

Ta-Da! See? I told you that was easy! For the original recipe, click here.