This Recipe is part of the One Pot Wonders Recipes from Michael Smith Menu
The sweet, sour, spicy, salty and savoury flavours of Thailand are one of my favourite ways to fill a bowl. They’re seductively addictive, always well balanced and one of the world’s great cuisines. They’re also easy! This is a very simple dish to make.
Ingredients
Two 14 oz (398 mL) cans of premium coconut milk
1 heaping tablespoon (15 mL) of Thai curry paste
Roots of 1 bunch of cilantro, rinsed well
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2 cups (500 mL) of chicken broth
1 carrot, shredded
4 or 5 lime leaves
2 stalks of lemon grass, halved lengthwise, woody leaves removed
2 tablespoons (30 mL) of fish sauce
Zest and juice of 2 limes
A small knob of frozen ginger
A handful of bean sprouts
One 8 oz (225 g) package of rice noodles
Leaves of 1 bunch of cilantro, rinsed well
2 or 3 green onions, thinly sliced
A sprinkle or two of salt or soy sauce
Directions
1. Scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of just one of the cans into a large stockpot set over a medium-high heat. Melt the cream, add the curry paste and stir for a few minutes until they begin to sizzle.
2. Add the cilantro roots and chicken and sauté until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the coconut juice from the first can and all the contents of the second can along with the chicken broth, carrot, lime leaves, lemon grass, fish sauce and lime zest and juice. Grate the frozen ginger into the broth with a Microplane grater or standard box grater. Simmer for 20 minutes or so.
4. Stir in the bean sprouts. Add the rice noodles, gently pushing them beneath the surface of the broth. Turn off the heat and let stand until the noodles soften, about 5 minutes. Rice noodles don’t need to simmer like pasta to cook; they simply need to rehydrate in the hot liquid.
5. Stir in most of the cilantro leaves. Remove the lemon grass stalks. Taste and season with a touch more salt (or soy sauce) as needed. Ladle into large bowls and garnish with the green onions and remaining cilantro leaves.
Serves 4
Freestyle Variations: Thai curry pastes get their heat from chili peppers, but they’re also loaded with other flavours. You may use as much or as little as you like. Yellow is the mildest; green the hottest. Try stirring in a head of chopped Asian greens or baby spinach with the bean sprouts. You may easily substitute beef or shrimp for the chicken.
Recipe excerpted from The Best of Chef at Home by Michael Smith. Published by Whitecap Books. Copyright 2009 by Michael Smith. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the book now!
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