Do you believe that the warmth of a spicy flavorful curry beats all the odds of winter? I do! When the temperatures are dropping outside and you want something to warm your body and soul before you go into hibernation, a bowl of delicious hot curry is your secret weapon.

There are times when you get tired of cooking dishes that use the same basic spices. Times when your palette craves something different and adventurous. Food that you would eat out because you don’t know how it will turn out when you make it at home. Thai Red Curry is just that meal for me! I always had it in restaurants and never dared to try it at home. While walking down the aisle of Whole Foods one morning (my favorite pastime) I saw a small jar of Thai Red Curry paste. It was whispering to me and I felt drawn to it… I reached out, took it down from the shelf and stared at it. Should I dare to take it home with me? What if it tastes terrible or worst – the kids are turned off of Thai food forever! I was almost about to put it back on the shelf when someone said “excuse me” behind me and I moved far down the aisle to make way for them. As I had already moved away with the bottle I decided to take the risk and put it in my cart. Next I grabbed some coconut milk as Thai Curry is incomplete without the fragrance and heavenly taste of coconut. I got some veggies and Jasmine rice. All ready to cook some Thai Food! I googled a lot of recipes and got the general sense of how to make this dish and set to work! The result amazed me! Not only this was a quick dish but the beautifully fragrant curry with an array of colorful vegetables on top Thai Jasmine rice is what dreams are made of… the flavors will make your tastebuds sing!

I used chicken in this recipe but you can use any protein of your choice. For the vegetables I opted for tricolor bell peppers and snow peas. You can also add baby corn, mushrooms or sugar snap peas. For a step by step tutorial, check out my Instagram @leena.ali under the Thai Red Chicken Curry highlight.

Thai red curry

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

For marination:

•1.5 pounds boneless chicken breast chopped into bite size pieces

•2tbsp of ground chili paste

•2 tsp Salt

•1 tbsp of soya sauce

•1/4 tsp black pepper powder

For the curry:

•2 tbsp oil

•1 small onion chopped

•1 inch piece of ginger chopped

•2 cloves of garlic chopped

•3 tbsp of red curry paste (I used Thai Kitchen brand)

•2 tbsp of coconut cream (optional)

•2 Serrano chili peppers seeded & chopped

•1 can (14 ounces) of unsweetened coconut milk

•1/4 cup water

•1 red, yellow or green bell pepper thinly sliced into 2-inch strips

•1 cup snow peas

•1/2 tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar

•1 tbsp soy sauce

•1/4 tsp salt

•1 tbsp Asian fish sauce (optional)

•Juice of 1 lime

For Garnishing: Handful of cilantro & chili flakes

To serve: Jasmine Rice

Method:

Marinate the boneless chicken with the spices for 15 minutes in the fridge.

Meanwhile chop & prepare the vegetables.

In a deep pot, heat oil and fry the chopped onion till translucent, about 3-5 mins.

Add in the ginger and garlic and stir fry for 1 minute until fragrant stirring continuously.

Add the marinated chicken and stir fry on high heat for 5 minutes until it starts to change color.

Add the red curry paste and keep stirring continuously for another 2 mins.

Add the coconut cream & mix well.

Pour in the coconut milk, water, maple syrup/sugar, and soya sauce. Mix well to combine. Reduce heat to medium and let it boil. Once it gets the first boil, reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Let it simmer for atleast 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the meantime prepare the jasmine rice.

After 10 minutes, add in the bell peppers, Serrano chili peppers and snow peas. Cover and let it cook for another 5-7 min or until the vegetables are tender.

Add in the fish sauce & lemon juice. Turn off heat and check the salt & other seasonings.

Serve hot in bowls garnished with cilantro and jasmine rice.

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

With love,

Leena