Thai Red Curry Chicken

The first day of the spring semester starts officially tomorrow. It's a really strange feeling to know that I'm at the halfway mark of my doctoral coursework.

Anyhow, this semester my days on Wednesday and Thursday are long. 8:00 am - 7:00 pm, which means I definitely need lunch and probably an afternoon snack. Hopefully I won't resort to take out when I get home tomorrow. Must resist the temptation! I really want to lose a few more pounds before the Justice Project next month.

So ... this recipe comes from a need to provide a healthy, re-heatable lunch for tomorrow. This would also be phenomenal with shrimp instead of chicken, and I'd be willing to give this a try with tofu too.


Thai Red Curry Chicken

For the chicken:
1 T sesame oil
2 chicken breasts, s+p
4 scallions, sliced
1 can lite coconut milk
1-2 T red curry paste

black, white, or red pepper, to taste
1 scant T fish sauce (optional)
2 scant T brown sugar
3/4 c frozen peas
garam masala
fresh cilantro

For the rice:

1 cup rice (I used short-grain white, but you could whatever you have on hand)

2 cups water

curry powder

turmeric

salt

pepper

dried cilantro

garam masala

Prepare and cook the rice as directed on package. I just throw mine in the rice cooker with the spices. I never measure spices when making rice, so use your best judgment and your nose.

In large saute pan, heat the sesame oil. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. (I put them in whole, removed them from the sauce during cooking, and returned them to the pan, but you could definitely slice first.) Place chicken in the pan.

Add sliced scallions (white part). Turn chicken. Pour in coconut milk, and add curry paste. I put in about 1 T, but next time would definitely put in 2 T. Add some pepper (maybe 1/8-1/4 t). I didn't use pepper tonight because I thought the curry paste would be a little spicier. Next time, pepper. I did add a small amount of garam masala at this point, which turned out nicely ... perhaps a scant 1/4 t, I'd guess.

Let simmer for about 5 minutes or so. Add fish sauce, if using, and brown sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add the frozen peas. Stir occasionally, simmering for another 8-10 minutes. You can add some of the green parts of the scallion here too. I also chopped in some fresh cilantro in the last few minutes, as well as adding a little more on top of the bowls for garnish.

Tangent: I used to hate cilantro, but in the last year or so, I've become a major cilantro convert. I absolutely love it now. Weird. Are you a lover or a hater?

Sorry there's no pictures for this recipe. Maybe next time I make it! Because it's definitely going to make future appearances on our dinner plates.