Wednesday 5 March 2014

Friday Night Thai/ Pad Thai and Green Chicken Curry

I was craving Thai food big time. I have made Pad Thai in the past, but some of the recipes I have used have been very labour intensive. My plan was to find a not-too-intense recipe to follow to make Pad Thai and then create my own Green Chicken Curry.
I ended up finding an easy to follow recipe on Joanna Goddard's Blog A Cup of Jo LOVE HER BLOG BTW!!!! The recipe actually originally came from another great blog called Cook Smarts.

Friday morning, I took a trip to my local Asian food mart Fu Yao Supermarket. Fu Yao has a huge selection of foods from a variety of different cultures. If you are looking to cook something ethnic and fabulous (like these recipes!!)
, try hitting an Asian store like Fu Yao for spices, curry pastes, sauces, and fresh produce ingredients like lemon grass, fresh thai basil and  green thai chillies. Very cool.

Plentiful fresh produce at Fu Yao.

Shrimp Pad Thai and Green Chicken Curry


Recipe for Great Shrimp Pad Thai (adapted from Cook Smart)....
8 ounces of Pad Thai rice noodles
3 tbl vegetable oil
1 tbl sesame oil
1 lb of shrimp deveined, tail on ( for flavour)
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chrushed
3 eggs, whisked
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbl. brown sugar
2 tbl fish sauce
2 tbl soya sauce
2 tbl tamarind paste
1 lime
1 bunch of  fresh cilantro
s and p

Method:
1. In a large bowl completely cover the noodles with boiling hot water for 6-8 minutes until soft and chewy. Drain and then toss with a little sesame oil so that they don't go clumpy.
2. Mix together the chicken stock, fish sauce, soya sauce, tamarind paste, sugar and garlic.
3. Add a couple of tablespoons of this marinade to the shrimp and let sit for a few minutes.
4. Over medium high heat, add 1 tsp of the vegetable oil and saute shrimp for a minute until just cooked. Set aside.
5. Return wok to medium-high heat and add the white parts of the chopped green onions and the whisked egg, scramble lightly for about 30 seconds. Add the rice noodles and the remaining sauce. Toss for a few minutes until completely coated and the noodles absorb the sauce.
6. Now add the shrimp, green parts of the chopped onion, chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.
7. Toss and taste...if it needs anything, add a dash or two of the above ingredients until it is spectacular and amazing!!! So so good!!!

Green Chicken Curry (recipe by Me)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 yellow peppers, sliced thinly
1 large onion, diced
1 bunch of cilantro
2 tbl of green curry paste
1 can of coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 lime
s and p
1 tbl cumin
2tbl canola oil


Method:
1. Slice chicken into bite size pieces and marinate for 15 mins. in a bowl with some of the chopped cilantro, cumin, s and p, and lime juice.
2. In a smaller dutch oven, heat 1 tbl of the oil on medium-high heat and add the sliced onions and sliced peppers. Saute for a few minutes until softened and then set aside.
3. In the same pan, heat another tbl of oil and brown the chicken for a minute or two on all sides.
4. Add the onions, and peppers, green curry paste, coconut milk and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to simmer. Cover and cook for 20 mins. Delish!!!!

Give it a shot!! Happy March Break!!









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