Thai Chicken Coconut Curry Sauce Recipe

By Shelley Pogue
I have realized that I have a very fond place in my heart for most curry dishes. It seems that they are more popular then ever these days, and I love to make and eat them often. I have tried several that are on the www but have found that I have not enjoyed them very well so I have created my own. I hope that you will find this to be a simple recipe and that you will enjoy it as much as I do.
Ingredients you will need: Chicken about 3-4 breast, Onions 1 small sliced like fajita cut, Red Bell Pepper 1/2 julienned sliced, 1/2 Can of Straw Mushrooms, 1/4 Cup of Matchstick Carrots, 1/4 Cup of Snow Peas. **For the Sauce: 1 Can of Coconut Milk, 2 Tablespoons of Sugar, 1 28 oz Can of Tomatoes Diced, 1 Yellow Can of Curry Paste, 3 Tablespoons of canola oil, 1 Toe of Fresh Garlic and Ginger, 1/4 Cup of Fresh Cilantro, Pinch of Salt and 2-3 Tablespoons of Corn Starch in about the same amount of water to make a slurry.
First you will get your sauce ready so you can let it simmer down after all of the ingredients are added. You will take a large sauce pan and add your oil and garlic and ginger over a low heat until you start to smell the aroma of them. Then add your Coconut milk and your tomatoes and curry and stir. Then add your sugar, salt and heat it up to about a simmer. When the sauce is warm add your slurry to thicken and then add your fresh cilantro and turn the heat on low and just let it hang out until your other ingredients are ready.
Chicken- You will want to cook your chicken. You can sauté it or bake it with a little salt pepper and paprika if you prefer. If you are going to sauté it you will need a little bit of oil in the pan preferably canola oil. It is a mono-saturated fat and it has a higher smoke point than olive. Get it to a golden brown in the pan and let hang out in the pan covered or in the oven on its lowest setting until done. To bake it you will add salt pepper and paprika and bake on 350 for about 15 minutes or until done. You do not want to overcook it because it will be dry.
Vegetables- You will want to get all of them washed and cut and ready to add the the sauce. I would sauté them in the pan that the chicken was cooked in to get the flavor from the chicken. When the vegetables are warm you will add them to the chicken. First i would add the onions and get them translucent and then I would add the carrots and bell peppers. I would add the mushrooms and the snow peas at the very last and give them a toss or two, and call them done.
**Rice/Starch- If you want to make some rice for this dish and you want to keep it more on the healthy side I recommend a brown rice if you prefer. The dish is fine without the rice but if you are trying to make sure you get your grains in for the day I say go for it.
When ready to serve if you are using rice and it to a serving dish and pour the sauce around the rice. Add your vegetables an top and the chicken to top of the veggies and serve. If you are not using rice add the vegetables to the sauce and stir. You will them add all of the sauce with veggies to a serving dish and the chicken will go on top of the sauce. Enjoy!Chef Shelley Pogue, a Cum Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and Executive Research and Development Chef, for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA.