Thai Red Curry Chicken

 

Hello. C J here. Thai food. It’s a mysterious and often hard to grasp subject. I often phrase Thai food as Chinese food but with less fried meat and more vegetables. They share a number of flavours in common like their choice of meats and their ability to make a nice sauce. However, while Chinese food often does sweet sauces thickened with cornstarch, their neighbouring nation does curries and coconut milk with spices.

More than the rest of them though, when it comes to Thai food, I’ve always had my sights set on a dish. One dish. Red curry chicken with peanuts. It’s hard to find even at a fine Thai food place. It’s often hidden on the menu behind labels like lime leaf or spicy. But it’s really good. Here, finally, I have figured out a homemade version. Unlike a lot of my recipes I add no extra salt. There’s enough salt in the salted peanuts to make it taste right.

One Tablespoon Coriander
One Teaspoon Ginger Powder
One Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
One Cup Chopped Salted Peanuts
One Dozen Fresh Basil Leaves
One Cup White Rice
Two Cups Water
One Chicken Breast
One Can Coconut Milk
Three Tablespoons Canola Oil

To Make the Red Curry Chicken
Put the rice and water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Put a lid on, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not check on the rice until it is done.

Cut the chicken breast long ways down the middle then slice it across the grain into thin, half centimetre wide strips.

Heat the oil in a chicken fryer. Add the chicken slices and cook for 3-5 minutes a side. Check they are done by cutting one of the larger ones open and making sure it’s white inside and not pink.

Add the coconut milk, spices, chopped peanuts and basil leaves to a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and simmer for a minute. Serve with rice and garnish with extra basil leaves.

C J Mcpherson