Thai Green Curry Chicken

                                                                                                  © Paul Cisneros 2010

    Another one of my culinary passions is Asian food. Especially the cuisines of Southeast Asia. I really love all the plethora of flavors. Sweet, salty, sour and spicy. There is something about it that I can't put my finger on. Asian food was actually the impetus for me to start learning to cook, but I'd strayed for awhile. Perhaps it was intimidation, but recently I've started to learn a few dishes. After spending a month backpacking in Thailand, I came back wanting to recreate all the amazing things I tasted there.

    One of my favorite all-time favorite Thai dishes is Green Curry Chicken. It is really a staple dish all over Thailand. I had it many, many times while I was there and was always delicious. This particular curry is spicy. If you don't like spicy food the only way to not make it spicy is make the curry from scratch without the chilies. For this recipe, however, we will be using the curry paste that you can get at your local Asian market. Most people, even Thai's, make it this way. So let's get started!

Thai Green Curry Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

1 Chicken Breast
1/3 cup Thai Green Curry Paste

1 can Coconut Milk

1 Carrot

1/2 Onion

1/2 cup Eggplant 

1/2 cup Bamboo shoots

1/2 Green or Red Bell Pepper

2 cups Water

1 TBSP Sugar

1 TSP Salt

1/2 cup Asian Basil

DIRECTIONS:

Cut all vegetables and chicken into bite size portions ( about 1") and set aside separately. 

***Remember to wash hands after handling raw poultry***

Pour 1/2 can of coconut milk and the curry paste into a large pot and turn the heat to medium low. Stir the mixture until the curry has mixed well into the coconut milk. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add the chicken. Reduce heat to gentle boil and cook the chicken through. Add vegetables. Stir for about 3-4 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add sugar,salt and remaining coconut milk and stir for another minute. 

Take off the heat and add the basil. Stir for another minute or until the basil has wilted. Serve immediately with Jasmine rice.