Thai Red Curry with Chicken and Basil
Thai red curry has long been one of my restaurant favorites, so I’ve been dying to recreate my version of this recognized specialty. So, as a base, I took my Thai recipe for chicken and basil, sautéing it in coconut oil and fish sauce with a spoon of minced garlic. I was pleasantly surprised—the fish sauce and basil were a perfect duo, giving a Thai flair to this signature dish. But what really capped it all off was the tangy lime juice that set off the saltiness of the unami fish sauce and the sweetness of the caramel palm sugar. And of course, who doesn't love the creaminess of coconut milk, paired with red curry paste? This is an easy recipe that comes together in no time but tastes like you spent hours laboring in the kitchen!
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2T. fish sauce
- I T. minced garlic
- 2 cups packed basil
- 2 boneless chicken breasts
- 1 T. virgin coconut oil
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- ¼ cup coconut cream
- 3 t. red curry paste, Thai Kitchen
- 2 ½ t. palm sugar
- Juice of ½ lime or more
- Jasmine Thai long grain rice to pair
Directions
- Step 1 First, remove the outer skin from the onion and dice by hand or pulse with a food processor. Scrape the contents into a medium mixing bowl. Then, smash your garlic cloves with the flat side of a chef’s knife, removing the skin and mincing the garlic, adding it to its separate mixing bowl. Next, remove the stems from the basil if you so desire and toss into a third mixing bowl. Finally, pat the chicken with a paper towel to remove any moisture and to ensure a good sear. After this, cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and place in a fourth mixing bowl.
- Step 2 At this point, you may want to break and ready your rice if you are using a rice cooker. I have found through a lot of trial and error that the two best ways of cooking rice is either with a rice cooker or by buying frozen, microwavable packets of rice. But since the packets of rice add up, my vote is for the rice cooker. Just avoid the stovetop. Every time I try cooking rice by this method, it clumps together and is a disaster.
- Step 3 Now, back to our recipe. To begin cooking, heat 1 T. of coconut oil in a 12” nonstick skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until the oil is glistening. Add the fish sauce and the onion and sauté for 4 minutes. Then, toss in the garlic and continue to sauté for 2 minutes. Next, add the chicken and cook for 6 minutes. Lastly, fold in the basil and cook for 3 minutes. Stir the above ingredients regularly.
- Step 4 Finally, measure out the curry paste, sugar, lime juice, coconut milk, and coconut cream, adding it to the nonstick skillet. Heat up—this should take about 4 minutes. Taste and add more lime juice, sugar, or salt if needed. The fish sauce is naturally salty, so you won’t need to season with very much salt, if any. Serve with rice.
This easy Thai curry takes only 15 minutes to prep but tastes like you labored all day in the kitchen! This winner of a recipe couples the saltiness of fish sauce with the sour tang of lime juice, all balanced by creamy coconut milk and peppery basil.
Nutritional Information: serving size: 273 g, servings per recipe: 6, calories: 395, total fat: 24.5 g., saturated fat: 19.9 g., cholesterol: 84 mg., sodium: 559 mg., total carbohydrate: 10.4 g., dietary fiber: 2.8 g., total sugars: 5.5 g., protein: 35.6 g., calcium: 60 mg., iron: 3.2 mg., potassium: 681 mg., magnesium: 86 mg., vitamin D: 16 IU, vitamin C: 7 mg., vitamin B-1: 0.1 mg., folate: 33 µg.