I have yet to find a great Thai food place in the town in which we settled, though Syracuse’s Erawan would be admittedly difficult to top, so I’ve dived into the philosophy here in RI that “when in doubt, do it yourself.”
At first glance, the ingredients may seem a bit overwhelming. Luckily, most grocery stores’ international aisle have a section dedicated solely to products from or related to Thailand. Even luckier is that most Thai products are written in English, so you don’t even need to speak Thai to decipher them. Personally, I prefer the products written only in Thai, but that took years of cooking this dish and building a comfort level with the products in order to do so. You may find, as I have, that stores do not keep a proper stock of Thai basil or Kaffir lime, which is commonly found in Thai dishes. I use sweet basil and regular lime instead, and I find it to be a relatively good substitute given that the coconut milk and curry paste are the real stars of this dish.
Finally, I can understand the off-putting connotation to fish sauce or the overwhelming nature of purchasing a giant bottle but only needing one tablespoon for this recipe. I remember feeling that way myself, but once I learned the depth of flavor fish sauce has, I now use it in many dishes – not just with those of Asian influence – in lieu of salt. If you’re not that brave, you may substitute fish sauce for soy sauce. Just remember that the flavor profile may be a bit off.
I should note that over the years I have become a sort Thai curry radicalist in that I take the pure form of a basic red curry and add whatever vegetables or fruit I have a hankering for that day or whatever is leftover in the fridge that needs to be used before spoiling. The base of this curry is always the same. What I add to it differs. What you see below is by far my favorite rendition of this dish.
Easy Thai Chicken Red Curry
Yields: 6
Level: Easy!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil (alternative: sunflower seed oil)
- 1 Tbsp. Thai red curry paste
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1/2 c. chicken broth
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 lb. chicken breast, cooked and chopped (see my recipe for easy baked chicken)
- 1 medium sized onion, chopped
- 1 orange pepper, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1/2 bag of frozen petite peas
- 1 c. fresh pineapple, chopped
- 1/2 c. basil, julienned
- 1/2 c. roasted peanuts, minced
- Jasmine rice, cooked
DIRECTIONS:
Heat coconut oil over medium-high heat in Dutch oven or large pot. Add onion and peppers and cook until softened, 3 minutes. Stir in curry paste to coat vegetables, 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, brown sugar and lime juice. Reduce heat to medium-low to simmer. Add cooked chicken, peas and pineapple and continue simmering on medium-low for 5 to 6 minutes.
Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with basil and peanuts.
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