Panang Curry

For father's day Stan asked that I make this for him. We both love Thai and this is an easy recipe that turns out just as well as what you'd order in a Thai restaurant. I ended up not making it until last night (4 days after father's day), but he still got his meal in the end. (We had gone over to his parents' house on father's day for a cookout, so this meal got postponed.) Here is the recipe, but I am going to share some notes at the end on how I make it, bc I couldn't find the exact recipe that is in my head. These are the ingredients I use, but the way I cook it is different....and easier.

Ingredients
1 cup long-grain white rice
8 small chicken cutlets (1 1/2 pounds total)
kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 bell peppers, sliced
1 15-ounce can coconut milk
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
1 lime, cut into wedges
Directions
Cook the rice according to the package directions.
Meanwhile, season the chicken with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Cook the chicken in batches until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from skillet and cut into strips.
Add the bell peppers and ¼ cup water to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the coconut milk and curry paste and simmer for 4 minutes. Stir in the chicken.
Spoon the chicken curry over the rice and sprinkle with the basil. Serve with the lime.

Laura's way:
I throw the curry and oil into a pot and cook it over medium until it is nice and aromatic. I add the coconut milk and bring it up to a simmer. Then I throw my chicken in RAW. I love the way it cooks in the coconut milk and curry and it makes the chicken so tender. (I also use about 1/2 teaspoon of fish sauce.) Once the chicken is cooked through I add the peppers and cook them until tender. Wait until the very very last minute to put in the basil. You don't want it to wilt to nothing. Then serve over rice. I sometimes throw in extra veggies like squash or zucchini, but I think that is a little less traditional, yet very good.

Mango with Sticky Rice

If there is a dessert that is pure heaven on earth, this is it...for me. It is perfection. Not everyone is going to love this stuff like I do, and I recommend trying it at a Thai restaurant before going and buying all the stuff you need to make it. Instead of putting the recipe on here, I am putting a link to the best explanation I have found on how to make it. You can find it HERE. But, I am adding a few notes to help you out. First, you HAVE to have the right kind of rice, and it is not easy to find. You pretty much have to go to an Asian store to find it. This is what my rice looks like. It is called sweet sticky rice.
The rice has to soak for 2-10 hours. I have done both ends of this spectrum and it turns out fine whether is soaks for 2 or 10 hours. Then you have to steam the rice. On the link that I gave they use a basket. I have one of these baskets (my hubby got for me recently) but I don't have the pot to go with it yet. However, I do have a steamer.

So, I put it in the steamer after it has soaked and been drained. Then I do all the other stuff on the recipe. The toasted sesame seeds really give it a nice added touch. Don't let this one intimidate you. You can do it. Oh, and one more note: I add a good bit more sugar and I also add a little coconut flavoring. These are 2 things I carried over from the old recipe that I used to use. If anyone makes this please let me know how you like it!

Green Curry - Cheap Thai

Not everyone loves Thai, but around here it is one of our favorites! We LOVE it! This is the easiest green curry ever, and it is so good and doesn't get any cheaper...but there is a catch. I only know one place to get this stuff and it is the Dakalb Farmer's Market in Atlanta, GA. These cans have all the ingredients you need for the curry part of this dish. You can add more veggies if you want, but tonight, when we had it, I just added chicken. This stuff is only $.99/can.

You pour the contents in a pot and bring them to a simmer.

Add some chopped up chicken. This is 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, and I did 3 cans of the curry. I guess our ratio then is 1:1.

It all goes in the pot, and it is done when the chicken is cooked. Serve it over some rice (I did 2 cups of rice), and that is it. We have 2 containers of leftovers in the fridge. So for dinner tonight and our lunches tomorrow, it all cost $6.50. Not too shabby, and ohhh so good....if you like Thai that is. It is a tad spicy.

Now for dessert.