Delicious red curry
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 2 small small red chillies seeded & sliced
- 4 kaffir lime leaves shredded
- 1 stalk lemongrass (white part only) finely sliced
- 4 chicken thighs cubed
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp red curry paste
- 1/2 can coconut cream/milk
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 20 green beans halved
- 1-2 japanese eggplant halved & sliced
- 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 fresh pineapple cut into chunks
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander
- 2 spring onion finely sliced
- 1 long red chilli sliced
- Carbohydrate 25.9439157724087 g
- Cholesterol 49.6800000015216 mg
- Fat 11.5894841693392 g
- Fiber 4.26858270295058 g
- Protein 13.6622458204356 g
- Saturated Fat 2.9938364449976 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (310g)
- Sodium 311.051375490917 mg
- Sugar 21.6753330694582 g
- Trans Fat 0.808486198313901 g
- Calories 253 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat oil in pan and saute the ginger, small chillies, garlic, kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass.
- Add the chicken and toss.
- Add the brown sugar to lightly caramelise before adding the curry paste. Stir to coat the spices.
- Add 1/2 can coconut cream/milk with the stock, green beans, eggplant and fish sauce. Turn down the heat, mix well and gently cook until chicken and eggplant are tender. Add more coconut cream if needed.
- Add pineapple and coriander. Mix and briefly cook to heat through.
- Sprinkle sliced long chillies and spring onions just before serving with steamed rice.
Should the curry simmer uncovered to reduce the liquid, or does trapping the steam help the eggplant soften faster? A wide skillet promotes rapid evaporation, concentrating the coconut cream fats while the Japanese eggplant absorbs the seasoned stock. Pair this dish with long-grain jasmine rice, whose neutral starch profile absorbs the aromatic oils without competing with the red curry paste. Alternatively, cold cucumber salad dressed in rice vinegar provides a temperature and acid contrast to the rich poultry.
- Fry the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and ginger in oil over medium heat for precisely sixty seconds to release their fat-soluble aromatic compounds into the pan.
- Add the brown sugar before the curry paste so the sucrose caramelizes against the hot metal, building a deeper umami foundation than sugar added later.
- Keep the heat at a gentle simmer after introducing the coconut milk; high heat causes the emulsion to break, separating the oil from the solids.
- Slice the Japanese eggplant into uniform half-moons approximately one-half inch thick to ensure they reach tenderness at the same rate as the cubed chicken thighs.
Pineapple contains the proteolytic enzyme bromelain, which breaks down proteins if left to marinate too long. Adding the fruit near the end of cooking preserves its crisp cellular structure against heat degradation.
