Thai Fried Rice

Semi-improvised for dinner tonight -- delicious!

• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed
• 10 peppercorns
• 2 T fish sauce
• 1 star anise
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated

• 2-3 cups brown rice
• 2 eggs
• 2 T light vegetable oil
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup snowpeas, trimmed and cut in half
• 1/2 can pineapple, cut in small dice
• 1/2 can baby corn, chopped
• 1/2 can straw mushrooms
• 2 Tbs fish sauce
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1 small tomato, sliced
• 1 small handful coriander leaves
• 2 T crushed peanuts

In a mortar and pestle grind the star anise and peppercorns to a fine powder. Add the cilantro, garlic, 2 T fish sauce, and ginger and grind to a smooth paste.

Lightly poach the chicken breast in chicken broth and slice thinly.

Steam the carrots for 2 minutes, add the peapods and steam 1 minute more; shock with cold water.

Heat a wok to medium-high, add the oil, then fry the paste for 30 seconds or so - until it smells nicely fragrant. Stir constantly to prevent burning. Crack the eggs, and then pour into the wok as you would for sunny side up. Cook for roughly 30 seconds without stirring allowing the white set a bit, then vigorously stir the egg so it scrambles. Immediately add the rice, and gently break it apart, stirring so each grain is coated in the egg and spice mix. Add the vegetables, chicken and pineapple, stir well and cook for a further 60 seconds. Add the fish sauce and sugar, stir well, then tip onto a waiting plate. Lay the slices of tomato around the rice, then scatter the top with the coriander leaves, and peanuts.

Thai Chicken Pasta

• 1 14-ounce can light unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup sliced green onions
• 1 1/4 cups chopped fresh basil
• 1 pound linguine
• 2 cups small fresh broccoli florets (about 5 ounces)

Stir coconut milk, curry paste and ginger in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until paste dissolves, about 1 minute. Mix broth and cornstarch in small bowl until cornstarch dissolves; mix into skillet. Stir until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add chicken, fish sauce and lime juice. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add bell pepper, green onions and basil and cook 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook linguine in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Add broccoli and boil 1 minute. Drain pasta and broccoli. Return to pot.

Pour sauce mixture over pasta and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

USER NOTES: more veggies - snap peas, carrots, baby corn, mushrooms

1 T. peanut butter, and 2 T. minced garlic. I didn't have parsley so I used cilantro. I didn't have green onions so I used a small green pepper. I also added 2 T. garlic chili pepper sauce

fresh blanched english peas, edamame, bias cut fennel stalks, asparagus, julienne chili peppers, cherry tomatoes, roasted peanuts, Thai chili-garlic sauce, extra garlic and ginger and experimented with green curry as well and have found the results exceedingly satisfying. Also, I found it best to add fish sauce to taste as the amount specified was not enough in my book.

from Epicurious

Yield: 4-6 servings

Curried Chicken-Coconut Soup

• 3 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
• 3/4 cup chopped green onions
• 2 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh lemongrass* (from about 4 stalks)
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 4 large chicken thighs with bones (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 6-ounce package baby spinach leaves
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Lime wedges

Combine first 6 ingredients in 6- to 8-quart pressure cooker. Remove skin from chicken; add chicken to cooker. Lock lid in place. Bring to high pressure over high heat. Cook 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain high pressure. Remove from heat. Let pressure come down naturally 8 minutes. Quick-release any remaining pressure.

Slowly release lid, standing back and allowing steam to escape. Transfer chicken to work surface; cool briefly. Remove bones. Cut chicken into 1/2-inch cubes. Return chicken to soup; add spinach. Simmer until spinach wilts, about 1 minute. Add lime juice. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls; sprinkle with cilantro. Serve, passing lime wedges separately.

*Available at Asian markets and in the produce section of some supermarkets.

COMMENTS: we added extra veggies (carrots, galangal, peas (first), baby corn and mushrooms (after 10 min. or so), red peppers (at the end with fresh basil and lime leaves). Used two cans of coconut milk, a bit of fish sauce adds a great flavor. We just threw the chicken, raw, directly into the pot with the vege broth, coconut milk, and lemongrass and it cooked perfectly...no pressure cooker, just a pot with lid. Added a few green chiles, too. Also, not too much lime juice...perhaps just wedges to serve at the table. Huge success and better the next day!

This soup is wonderful but I did make some changes. Used 4 cups of the broth (each small can contains 2 cups) Then upped the coconut milk by half a can. Added Fish Sauce, Green Curry Paste,Brown Sugar, Red Bell Pepper, Sliced Crimini Mushrooms, Sugar Snap Peas and Minced Garlic. I prepared it on the stove top as I do not own a pressure cooker. Put in the first 6 ingredients plus the curry paste and garlic and simmered for 45 min. then added the rest of the ingredients to taste. BIG TIP: Sliced the lemongrass down the center, cut it into thirds, and then added it.It is a pain to pick it out before serving but not nearly as awful as trying to chew it up while your enjoying this fabulous soup. Next time I will wrap it in a piece of cheese cloth. I also used Basil instead of Cilantro as that is what I had on hand. The Green Curry Paste is very hot so start with a half tablespoon then add to desired heat. We really love this soup on a cold winter night. The lime juice seemed to be heavy handed.Added 2 T. and passed lime wedges at the table. ENJOY !!!

I don't own a pressure cooker, so I made it in the crock pot and let it simmer for several hours. It was absolutely delicious. We had leftovers that I boiled down a bit and served over rice. My husband preferred it that way, although I preferred it as a soup.

This recipe was good. I used one entire breast (about 1 1/2 lbs) cut into eighths and the powdered lemongrass and yellow curry powder that I make from an Indian cookbook recipe. My husband suggested adding fresh onion shreds as garnish along with the cilantro and that was good. Next time I will try it with the red Thai curry paste.

from Epicurious

Yield: 4 main-course servings