Red Curry with Chicken and Mushrooms

How to prepare the ingredients

1. There is hardly anything exotic among the ingredients. Ready-made spice pastes and seasonings are sold in most stores, and coconut cream is easily replaced with milk; you need 2-3 times more of it to get about the same richness. Vegetables and chicken are easy to find too.

   

2. Prepare the mushrooms: soak them in cold water beforehand to clean off any remaining substrate. It is better to use small mushrooms so you don’t have to cut them.

3. Cut the vegetables and chicken. Remove the seeds from the large red bell pepper and cut it into cubes. Peel the carrots and potatoes; I advise cutting them into fairly thick slices with a decorative vegetable knife. Cut the chicken fillet into cubes too. Cut everything so that the finished dish can be eaten with chopsticks.

   

How to fry the paste, chicken and vegetables

1. You can cook chicken curry with mushrooms and vegetables in a wok or an ordinary frying pan. It is important to have a lid.

2. Fry the curry paste with the spices. Pour 2 tbsp of sesame oil into the pan (sunflower or olive oil also works) and set it over medium heat. Add 25 g of red curry paste, usually half a packet. If you want the finished dish to be really hot, add more. Toss in 5-6 kaffir lime leaves and a couple of bay leaves. Fry the mixture until the paste combines with the oil.

   

3. Fry the diced chicken fillet in the spicy mixture until the pieces start to brown slightly. Usually 5-6 minutes of constant stirring is enough.

4. Add the sliced carrots and potatoes to the pan, stir and fry with the paste and chicken for 2-3 minutes. The sauce turns out best with large slices of vegetables, since they hold their shape when done.

   

5. Add the pepper, mushrooms and seasonings. Add the diced red bell pepper and all the prepared mushrooms to the pan. We always add 1 tsp of curry (2 g) powder blend; it colors the ingredients an appealing orange. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime, then add 1.5 tbsp of light soy sauce and 1 tbsp of mushroom sauce.

   

How to simmer the curry and cook the rice

1. Pour in the liquid and bring to a boil. You can also leave the squeezed lime half in the pan, since it improves the flavor. If you use coconut cream, which is richer, you need a small packet of about 65 ml and 2 cups of water (400 ml). With coconut milk, use less water so that the total liquid is about 0.5 l. Once it boils, cover the pan with a lid.

   

2. Simmer the chicken curry with mushrooms and vegetables over medium heat, covered, for 20-25 minutes. That is enough for the carrots and potatoes to become almost al dente; don’t overcook them.

3. While the vegetables simmer, boil the rice until done (timing as on the package). Use any fluffy variety available, such as parboiled or basmati. By the way, rice can be served hot or cooled.

Serving

1. Serve the meal as you like, in individual bowls or on one large plate, with the cooked rice and sauce arranged on it. In a separate bowl, add chopped cilantro, lime wedges and hot pepper cut into rings.

   

   Offer chopsticks or forks; a spoon for the sauce won’t hurt. I like to add rice to the sauce in small portions, so it soaks up the sauce and becomes very tasty.