Eating The Sky

I'm a sucker for Panang Chicken, which is the Thai Red Curry you can order at just about any Thai restaurant. But this time I wanted to give the green a stab. It certainly does seem to be popular with the girls, strangely enough since it's usually spicy enough to melt your face off (at least traditionally). I made mine pretty mild this time because I live with people who can't handle heat :) You know who you are!

For this dish I started out by picking some fresh lemongrass off my friend's plant, chopping it up and simmering it on very low heat in coconut milk, covered. While that's gently cooking, grate some ginger, crush some fresh garlic, jalapeno or Thai peppers and throw it all in the coconut milk. I have fresh herbs out back so I picked some lemon thyme and Thai basil, chopped it along with a little parsley, cilantro and spinach (for extra green color mostly) and threw them in too. If you can find kaffir lime leaves, get them and add them at this point.

I then julienned some veggies: green and yellow peppers, yellow onions, carrots and celery (or whatever cut and veggies you like... I like julienne for this because it cooks fast). Throw some of the celery in the coconut milk. Set the rest aside. Make sure the sauce is not too hot and blend it in a blender until as smooth as it will get. Strain and add a tiny pinch of xanthan gum (TINY!!!), a regular pinch of rice flour and a pinch of corn starch, then blend again. Put the sauce in a large simmer skillet or pot and bring to a low simmer.

Measure out your white long grain rice and start it cooking now. My best advice for rice is use a flat-bottomed pot, almost double the amount of water to rice, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover for about 15 minutes, or until the rice is just barely crunchy in the middle of the grains. Then turn off the heat and leave covered until ready to serve. That last part is important as the water and heat will distribute evenly, creating a nicely textured rice.

Slice and add chicken breast strips a few at a time, stirring so that the chicken doesn't stick together. Then add the veggies, coriander, salt, a tiny touch of tamari, honey and if you have it tamarind sauce and continue simmering on low for about 15 minutes. Top with some fresh Thai basil leaves and serve it up! If this doesn't give you a mouthgasm I don't know what will.

Although this took about 2 hours to prepare it was worth it. I made 4 servings for just under $13. Eat that!