Thai Chicken Red Curry

This is yet another one of my favorite Asian dishes to grace this blog. Trust me there are many more to come! Red curry was probably the second Thai dish that I’ve ever tried, after Pad Thai, of course. This one is Devin’s favorite. When we lived in our tiny 450 sq. ft. apartment in Brooklyn we ordered out A LOT. Mind you, our kitchen was super small, we had no dishwasher and I wasn’t super into cooking yet. Living in Brooklyn also came with a plethora of food options so these were all valid reasons to continuously order out.

My undying love of Asian food had me always craving either sushi, Chinese or Thai, so whenever Devin gave into the Thai option, Red Curry was always his go to. I should mention that we lived in Borough Park, Brooklyn that had a large Asian population so they truly knew how to make some bomb-ass curry!

Since moving to Virginia, we definitely did not have as many good food options as we were used to. On the contrary, moving to Virginia came with more living space, a larger kitchen and, alas, a dishwasher! Thus my desire to cook the meals we were so used to ordering was born and so was this blog!

I think that’s about enough of a backstory. Let talk curry! So as always, I’m going to let you know that the veggies/meat in this recipe are not set in stone. I just used the veggies that I prefer but I’ve had many red curry dishes that used different veggies. Some alternatives would be zucchini, asparagus, green beans, snow peas and squash. I’d say any veg that has a firm consistency could be used.

In terms of alternatives, the same goes for meat. You can make this completely vegetarian by just leaving out the chicken. It will also cut 10 minutes of your cook time! But if you’re like Devin and MUST HAVE MEAT, shrimp is a great alternative to chicken. Fish could work as well but be aware, it may break apart in the sauce.

As for flavor, we’ve tried a lot of different seasoning variations from takeout. Some were sweet, some were spicy, some were more savory. Our favorites were on the sweet and spicy side. The amount of sugar used in this recipe was perfect for OUR liking. So I’d suggest to start with less and gradually add more as you taste. Fish sauce is what will make it more savory/salty. It also adds a distinct flavor that you may or may not like so add this gradually as well, or opt for using salt instead.

How do you love your red curry? Sweet? Savory? Spicy? All the things? Let me know in the comments below!

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Thai Chicken Red Curry

by Jasmine Nichole Sanders

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes and seasoned
• 1 small onion, diced in large chunks
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 red or green pepper, diced in large chunks
• 7 oz. shitake mushroom, sliced
• 14 oz. can bamboo shoots, drained
• 0.5 oz. package Thai basil
• 4 tbsp. red curry paste
• 2 13.5 oz. can coconut milk
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp. raw sugar
• 1 tbsp. sriracha (optional)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups Jasmine rice

Instructions

Bring water and rice to boil in a medium pot. Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté onions, garlic, ginger and peppers for 1 minute. Add in sliced mushrooms, bamboo shoots, basil and red curry paste and cook for an additional minute making sure to fully coat all veggies in curry paste.

Add coconut milk to skillet and stir. Season with fish sauce and sugar one tablespoon at a time. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning to your liking, whether you prefer it more sweet or more savory. Add sriracha for some heat, if you like. Bring to a boil.

Add in chicken, turn stove to low, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes until chicken is fully cooked.

Remove from heat and serve over rice.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 4-6