I’ve always enjoyed making – and eating! – curries, and I recently had the opportunity to participate in a fun “Curry Challenge” from Thai Kitchen. They heard that I had never made Thai food before, so they mailed me a Curry Challenge cooking kit, full of ingredients and a recipe for Red Curry Chicken that is meant to be as easy as it is good. So how challenging was this Curry Challenge? I’ve documented my whole experience to share with you – and Thai Kitchen would also like to give two lucky Contest Corner readers a Thai Kitchen Cookbook, so read on!
Last night marked the beginning of my foray into Thai cooking. I’ve always enjoyed eating at Thai restaurants, but hadn’t prepared Thai food myself, so I was excited to try this. All of the ingredients I used are pictured above, so it was pretty straightforward. Usually when I make curry, it involves a lot of potato peeling, carrot chopping, onion dicing and so forth, so I liked the simplicity of the ingredients.
This is the recipe that was included in my kit:
Red Curry Chicken
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
1 can (14 ounces) Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk, divided
2 tablespoons Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup chopped fresh Thai basil
2 tablespoons Thai Kitchen Premium Fish Sauce
1. Bring 1/2 of the coconut milk to simmer in large skillet on medium heat. Stir in curry paste until well blended. Add remaining coconut milk and sugar; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes.
2. Stir in chicken. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken is heated through. Stir in basil and fish sauce.
3. Serve with cooked Thai Kitchen Jasmine Rice. Garnish with additional basil and red chile slices, if desired. Makes 4 servings.
I started off by preparing the chicken breasts. I cooked them on a pan coated in coconut oil, since I thought that would compliment the other coconut flavorings in the dish.
As the chicken cooked, I chopped the basil. The recipe called for Thai basil, which I couldn’t find at my supermarket; so I substituted it for regular basil, which seemed to work just fine.
After the chicken was cooked, I chopped it into small pieces. The recipe didn’t mention if the chicken should be diced or not, but I decided it would be better that way.
The package of chicken was over 2 pounds, so I measured out 1 pound for the recipe and stuck the rest in a ziploc bag. During the coming week, I’ll toss the cooked chicken into tortillas with avocado and cheese for a yummy quesadilla, and mix it up with mayo and a hardboiled egg as a topping for salads and sandwiches. I love cooking up a big batch of food on the weekend – it makes the workweek so much easier!
As I chopped up the chicken, I also started the water boiling for the rice and began simmering the coconut milk.
I didn’t have a big enough skillet, so I used a stockpot instead!
I wasn’t sure about the best way to coordinate the cooking time of the rice and curry – when I’m making dinner, I find the timing to be the most challenging aspect – so I started boiling the water at the same time that I began simmering the coconut milk. This worked out perfectly; all the food was ready to serve at the same time.
Dinner time!
Everything turned out perfectly – the curry was really good and got rave reviews from Jai. A word of warning to the meek: this curry does pack a spicy punch, so if you have mild-mannered taste buds like me, you might want to add less curry paste. I had to be careful not to get too much of the curry sauce on my plate, since it was so hot; Jai, on the other hand, enjoyed the spiciness.
I really enjoyed making this, and I would make it again. Realistically, this takes longer than 35 minutes to make, and there was a fair bit to keep track of as I simmered the curry and prepared the rice; but it was really nice to have most of the ingredients pre-prepared, and not spend an hour peeling potatoes. I thought this was a straightforward, yummy recipe, and I had fun making it – not too bad for my first time making Thai food!
Win it!
Did this recipe pique your interest in trying Thai cooking for yourself? Two lucky Contest Corner readers will win a Thai Kitchen Cookbook! Here’s how to enter:
1. For your first entry, check out Thai Kitchen’s Real Asian Made Simple. Then come back here and leave a comment telling me what recipe you’d like to try!
This step is required to qualify for the drawing. Be sure to leave an email address with your comment, so that I may notify you in the event that you are the lucky winner!
Want extra entries? Do any of the following, and leave a separate comment for each one:2. Write a post on your blog linking to this giveaway and Real Asian Made Simple.. Then come back here and leave me the link!
3. Write about this on Twitter, then come back and leave me the link to your tweet! One tweet entry per person.
4. Subscribe to my blog updates by entering your email into the “Subscribe” box in the sidebar. Then come back and leave me the email you subscribed with!
5. Become a follower of my blog by clicking the “Follow” button in my sidebar! Then come back here and let me know in a separate comment!
6. Post my button on your website – just copy and paste the following code, and let me know where you put it:
Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway ends on December 21st at 11:59 PM, PST. Winner will be chosen the following day via Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. Giveaway is open to US residents.
I think I’ll try the Sesame Teriyaki Noodles with Chicken. Thanks for the giveaway!
s.mickelson at gmail dot com
bananas in coconut milk looks goooood!
Mandarin orange chicken salad looks yummy.
joelster87 at hotmail dot com
I LOVE Pad Thai and would so enjoy learning how to make it at home!
shellcos at hotmail dot com
I would love to try the Shrimp Papaya Salad!
Thank you for the giveaway 🙂
hurdler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com
I follow your blog!
Thank you for the giveaway 🙂
hurdler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com
Yay! I’m a subscriber!
shellcos at hotmail dot com
Ooooo…. I’m a follower too!
shellcos at hotmail dot com
Soy Ginger Shrimp and Noodle Salad looks so Yummy!
honeybeez80@yahoo.com
THE THAI FRIED RICE,I ATE TONS OF IT WHEN I WAS STATION IN THAILAND IN 1968
i’d choose the Chicken Fried Rice
thanks
bleatham*at*gmail.com
tweet
http://twitter.com/sleatham1/status/6460663613
bleatham(at)gmail.com
email subscriber
bleatham(at)gmail.com
blog follower
bleatham(at)gmail.com
your button is on my blog
http://sweepnsave.blogspot.com
bleatham(at)gmail.com
I’d like to try the Sweet & sour Pineapple Chicken.
a_heart4home(at)yahoo(dot)com
I tweeted here
http://twitter.com/heart4home/status/6461542505
a_heart4home(at)yahoo(dot)com
Your buttons in our left sidebar.
http://www.a-heart4home.blogspot.com
a_heart4home(at)yahoo(dot)com
The Thai fried rice looks good.
The ginger shrimp and noodle salad sound like a neat recipe.
csolheim at manawa.k12.wi.us
i’d like to try pad thai
e-mail subscriber
The recipe is a little complicated for me. The fried rice looks yummy. I think if I won I would give it to friend with a Thai husband!
rbjj32825[at]lycos[dot]com
I really like Pad Thai, I should try that.
If you like cookiing Thai food, may I recommend this site
http://www.thaifoodtonight.com
I’d like to try Spicy Thai rice with shrimp. Thank you!!!
VanessasSecret4 at aol dot com
Chicken with Chili and Basil.
magic5905@embarqmail.com
Coconut Ginger Soup sounds delish.
emmy5905@embarqmail.com
The Thai Fried Rice looks real good!! Please enter me:) Thanks!!
esterried[at]yahoo[dot]com
bananas in coconut milk or pad thai.
I’d like to try the Thai Tapioca pudding
rosans4@comcast.net
Subscribe by e-mail
rosans4@comcast.net
Follower-rosannepm
rosans4@comcast.net
Yum! Definitely pad thai. We love trying new recipes.
I’d like to try the Mandarin Ornge Chicken Salad.
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
Email subscriber.
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
Follower via blogger.
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
OMG! YUM!
i HEART the Sesame Teriyaki Noodles with Chicken!!!
Subscriber!
Follower!
tweet
http://twitter.com/lilshuga2001/status/6505056515
Thai fried rice
jceko77@yahoo.com
I would like to try the Thai Fried Rice!
delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com
Follower!
delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com
I’d like to try the Thai Beef Salad
arobimom at gmail dot com
subscribe by email
arobimom at gmail com
Follow your blog using google friend connect user id Aline
arobimom at gmail dot com
sweet & sour pineapple chicken!
blueteardrop at comcast.net
The Tom Yum Soup looks rockin good
jason(at)allworldautomotive(dot)com
I am a blog follower
nickolay
jason(at)allworldautomotive(dot)com