I came up with this recipe when I needed to use up a variety of leftover ingredients. It's hard to go wrong with Massaman Curry, coconut milk and cinnamon. All measurements are estimates, as I just used whatever I had available. Be creative!
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Massaman curry paste
2 bay leaves
1 stick cinnamon, broken in two
2 Tbsp canola oil for cooking
1/2 - 1 cup vegetable broth
2 pounds of chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 sweet potatoes or equivalent white potatoes, cut into chunks
1-2 Chinese eggplants, cut into chunks
3 tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 cup coconut milk (not lite, but opened upside down to limit fat content)
6 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup red onion or shallots, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp ginger, grated
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, to taste, if desired
Kaffir lime leaves ) for topping
Cilantro )
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a casserole pan with oil and allow the potato to start baking.
2) In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, heat the curry paste, bay leaves and cinnamon for 1-2 minutes.
3) Add the canola oil, onion, garlic and ginger and a few tablespoons of the broth. Heat for 1 minute.
4) Add the chicken and 1/2 cup of broth and cook for a minute, coating with spices.
5) Add the coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves (if using).
6) Add the chicken mixture to the potatoes and bake covered at 350 for 40-50 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Add broth as desired and toss occasionally to prevent the chicken from becoming too dry.
7) Adjust to taste by adding cayenne if it's too bland or add coconut milk if it's too spicy. For a more
salty taste, add fish sauce.
This is a collection of some of my favorite recipes that prove that nutritious foods can be delicious! I love to experiment with and create new recipes. Here are some that are tried and true. Let me know what you think! If you have a better version, I'm game!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Thai Curry Chicken
Adapted from the label of Maesri brand Masaman Curry Paste
This can easily be adjusted for 'hotness' by changing to ratio of curry paste to coconut milk. Although regular coconut milk is high in fat, a chef at Herbal Thai in Silver Spring taught a great trick during a cooking class. If you open the bottom of the can instead of the top, much of the fat will remain on the top (which is now the bottom). The milk is much richer than the low fat variety, which is diluted with water. The choice is your's, depending on your priorities. The recipe makes enough to go with at least two pounds of chicken or tofu. If you are using tofu, I would try to marinate it in the sauce first, to allow it to take up the flavors. Leftover sauce can be kept for 4 days and used for another meal.
This is not a low calorie or low sodium recipe, but can be adapted by using very little sauce relative to the other ingredients.
Ingredients:
4 oz Masaman Curry Paste (of course)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 more cup of coconut milk, to add as needed
1 - 2 lb chicken, cut into small chunks
1 sweet potato cut into 1/2 inch dice
1/2 Vidalia onion, cut up
1/4 cup shredded Thai basil leaves
1 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped (I use an old coffee grinder)
Directions:
1) Heat 1 1/2 cups coconut mild with the curry paste for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
2) Add chicken then add more coconut milk as needed to adjust for taste.
3) Add potato and onion and heat until the chicken is tender.
4) Add basil toward the end of preparation.
5) Sprinkle top with roasted nuts.
This can easily be adjusted for 'hotness' by changing to ratio of curry paste to coconut milk. Although regular coconut milk is high in fat, a chef at Herbal Thai in Silver Spring taught a great trick during a cooking class. If you open the bottom of the can instead of the top, much of the fat will remain on the top (which is now the bottom). The milk is much richer than the low fat variety, which is diluted with water. The choice is your's, depending on your priorities. The recipe makes enough to go with at least two pounds of chicken or tofu. If you are using tofu, I would try to marinate it in the sauce first, to allow it to take up the flavors. Leftover sauce can be kept for 4 days and used for another meal.
This is not a low calorie or low sodium recipe, but can be adapted by using very little sauce relative to the other ingredients.
Ingredients:
4 oz Masaman Curry Paste (of course)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 more cup of coconut milk, to add as needed
1 - 2 lb chicken, cut into small chunks
1 sweet potato cut into 1/2 inch dice
1/2 Vidalia onion, cut up
1/4 cup shredded Thai basil leaves
1 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped (I use an old coffee grinder)
Directions:
1) Heat 1 1/2 cups coconut mild with the curry paste for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
2) Add chicken then add more coconut milk as needed to adjust for taste.
3) Add potato and onion and heat until the chicken is tender.
4) Add basil toward the end of preparation.
5) Sprinkle top with roasted nuts.
Honey Mustard Broccoli Salad with Thai Basil
This is an interesting refreshing salad that can be easily changed depending on the ingredients you have available. Thai basil has a much more distinctive taste than regular basil, but any herb that tastes good to you without needing to cook it will do.
Ingredients: (one option, anyway)
For the salad:
1 pound of broccoli
2 red bell peppers
1 sweet apple - e.g. Gala or Honeycrisp
20 leaves Thai basil coarsely chopped
1/2 cup of toasted seeds or nuts - sunflower, pumpkin or peanuts can work
(to toast, spread on toaster over shelf or cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 3-5 minutes;
watch carefully, to avoid burning.)
For the dressing:
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp EVOO
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/8 tsp Kosher salt, more to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Use a vegetable peeler to trim the broccoli stalks. Cut the stalks into sliver and the rest into
small florets. Cut the bell peppers into bite-size pieces. Coarsely dice the apples, without peeling.
Steam the vegetables for about 1-2 minutes, so they soften slightly, but are still crisp.
2) Whisk the dressing ingredients together. Toss with the salad. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes
before serving.
Ingredients: (one option, anyway)
For the salad:
1 pound of broccoli
2 red bell peppers
1 sweet apple - e.g. Gala or Honeycrisp
20 leaves Thai basil coarsely chopped
1/2 cup of toasted seeds or nuts - sunflower, pumpkin or peanuts can work
(to toast, spread on toaster over shelf or cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 3-5 minutes;
watch carefully, to avoid burning.)
For the dressing:
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp EVOO
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/8 tsp Kosher salt, more to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Use a vegetable peeler to trim the broccoli stalks. Cut the stalks into sliver and the rest into
small florets. Cut the bell peppers into bite-size pieces. Coarsely dice the apples, without peeling.
Steam the vegetables for about 1-2 minutes, so they soften slightly, but are still crisp.
2) Whisk the dressing ingredients together. Toss with the salad. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes
before serving.
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