There is a Curry for Everyone

When we visited my in-laws I wanted to do a curry night because my father-in-law loves curry  but knowing that my mother-in-law isn’t a huge fan of curries I planned on doing something for her as well.  Especially since the curry I wanted to make was the tomato garlic beef curry which is really spicy.   When my MIL said that it’s the heat that turns her off of the curry I thought I would make her the mild chicken curry I make for those that aren’t into the spicy side of things.

This recipe uses thai curry paste.  I agree with both camps of buying the paste or making it.  Making it isn’t difficult if you have some time and all the ingredients.  However, we had the kids this weekend and now that the weather is warm we have to work on a ton of projects, so time was limited.

My husband also made naan to go along with this.

Coconut chicken curry 1 2016

Because this was just for me and my husband I cubed a breast and a half of chicken and heated up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet.  Start cooking the chicken.  Finely chop 3-4 cloves of garlic and slice a couple of scallions.  Cook for a few minutes.

Coconut chicken curry 2 2016

Slice a few mushrooms and about a cup of pepper.  I chose orange to make the dish pop.  Add half a cup of chicken stock and bring to a simmer.  Add Thai Green Chili paste.  Start off with a little bit and build up to the heat level you would like.   Add 1/2 -3/4 cup of coconut milk.  Adjust the heat level with the curry paste.  Season with cilantro (coriander leaf) and a teaspoon of garam masala.

Coconut chicken curry 3 2016

Once the chicken is cooked through serve in a bowl with the naan.  My husband also made a wonderful mango chutney to go along with this.

Coconut chicken curry 4 2016

When I made this for my mother in-law she really enjoyed it.  Success!  It was nice to make something she liked since she had made us so many yummy meals while we visited.  We ate very well!

Coconut Curry Soup

Once in awhile as a treat for my husband I tell him I would like to make a special meal of his choice for him.  Whatever he wants.  This time he picked out a Thai soup.  I found this on pinterest here Coconut Curry Noodles. The base of it looked good but as I saw in the comments it was a bit bland for some so I decided to make it my own to make sure it had some zip to it.  It isn’t hard to make and you have control with the level of heat.

For the rice noodles, I just follow the directions on the box.  Boil for 4-6 minutes then drain.

To start I chopped up some carrot and scallion from our garden and chopped up a few cloves of garlic.

Coconut Curry Soup 1 2012

I saute these for a few minutes in olive oil then I add a few tablespoons of Thai red curry paste.

Coconut Curry Soup 2 2012

Next I add a bunch of peppers.  I got to use our frozen peppers from the garden for the first time and I have to say I was pleased with the result.  I don’t like mushy veg and I didn’t get that with this soup.

Coconut Curry Soup 3 2012

Next I add about 1 1/2 cup of veg broth and bring to a simmer.

Coconut Curry Soup 4 2012

Then I add a can of coconut milk.  I have to say, as this was the first time I used this, it was weird!  It separates in the can so the solids are at the top.  So much so I could turn the open can upside down.  I wasn’t expecting that.  I mix in the coconut milk and a handful of chopped cilantro.

Coconut Curry Soup 5 2012

It was at this point I had to get creative as it was bland.  I added a bit of salt, more curry paste as we like the heat, and a bit of soy sauce.  It still needed more.  So I added a few splashes of lime juice then grated a good amount of fresh ginger.

Coconut Curry Soup 6 2012

I have to say the ginger was the right way to go.  It really added a great dimension to the flavours.  I chopped up a bunch of peanuts and threw half into the soup while cooking.  To serve put the rice noodles into the bowl.

Coconut Curry Soup 7 2012

Then pour the soup over the noodles.  Top with peanuts.

Coconut Curry Soup 8 2012

I will definitely be making this again.  I loved how it turned out.  A few days later we had a little for leftovers so I sauteed up some chicken and then reheated the soup to have together.  That worked really well and this would be perfect with prawns.