Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken

Scotia and I went to the Asian Market the other day and picked up a jar of Mae Ploy Yellow Curry paste. Then we went to the Farmer’s Market and picked up batches of Onion and Garlic Scapes. These are the tops that are normally just cut off and discarded, which is unfortunate, because they are really tasty! Finally, we went to Trader Joe’s Sunday and picked up some frozen French Green Beans that are really from France. I offered to fix yellow curry last night, and Scotia agreed rather quickly! Hmmm…

We had some Chicken Breasts in the freezer, so I thawed one and was on a roll. The ingredients looked like this after much chopping, with only one slight nick on the left index finger. The curry paste is really dry, but when stir fried with coconut milk, it quickly forms a nice sauce. Scotia browned the chicken in a bit of Peanut Oil and this went into the curry sauce first, followed by the stir fried veggies. I followed the directions on the curry paste jar, sort of. The instructions said to use 50 gm of paste with 2 C Coconut Milk and 1 C water. I ended up using 60 gm paste and 14 oz coconut milk. I etimated 60 gm to be about ¼ C. The sauce was a little spicier than it would have been, but not painfully so. Scotia made a batch of Basmati rice, and I warmed up some Nan we had also bought at TJ’s. Wow! Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

Three Onion Scapes
Two Garlic Scapes
½ C TJ’s frozen French Green Beans
½ C dried Shitake Mushrooms
½ C Savoy Cabbage
1 med Chicken Breast
1 14oz can TJ’s Coconut Milk
¼ C Mae Ploy Yellow Curry Paste
Peanut Oil for frying
Cilantro and Thai Holy Basil for garnish

Putting it Together:

Cut the Onion Scapes into ¼ inch slices, the Garlic Scapes, Green Beans, and Savoy Cabbage into 1 inch pieces, and the Chicken Breast into bite size chunks. Soak the Mushrooms in a little water until they plump up, and save the water for the sauce. Brown the chicken thoroughly in peanut oil, and stir fry the veggies in a separate skillet at the same time. Two at the range at once is fun! When these are finished, remove from the skillets and set aside. Stir fry the curry paste in the skillet you used for the chicken for a minute of so, then add half of the can of Coconut Milk, mixing thoroughly. Let this simmer for about two minutes, then add the rest of the Coconut Milk, and simmer an additional three minutes. Fill the can half way using the mushroom water, swish around to incorporate the remaining milk, and add to the curry sauce. Return to a simmer and add the browned chicken. Cook for another minute, add the veggies, and cook until the sauce thickens slightly. Serve with steamed rice and hot Nan with butter. Left overs are not required!