Thai Red Curry - Leftover Clean up Food

Thai Red Curry

The word "curry" realistically means the same thing as the word "gravy."  There are as many different curries in India or Thailand as there are different types of gravy in the US.  And they are each quite different.  For example, most Indian curries use cream or yogurt as a base, while Thai curries tend to use coconut milk (which makes Thai food perfect for people with dairy sensitivities).  And typically cooks from those countries will use curry paste rather than the curry powder available in most grocery stores.  And if you are looking for authentic taste, stick to the pastes.  If you can't find any, there are recipes on line for the various Indian and Thai curry pastes.  Don't use the powder for this recipe - it's a blend of Indian spices, not Thai spices.  For Thai recipes the basics are red, green and yellow curry pastes, my personal favorite being red.  If you have food allergies, read the labels carefully, although most don't contain gluten they DO typically contain seafood.

Here's where this recipe comes in handy - this is so versatile you can use this for almost any leftovers you have in your fridge - it just takes 1 pound of meat (chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, pretty much whatever) and 2 Cups of veggies (broccoli, onion, zucchini, carrots, pea pods, mushrooms - you are only limited by what you have in your fridge and your imagination).  Today I used leftover chicken with leftover broccoli and carrots.

1 pound meat (see above), cooked and thinly sliced.

2 C vegetables (see above) cut into bite sized pieces and lightly steamed or sauteed.

1-2 T red curry paste - you can adjust this to how spicy you want the dish

(Optional:  1 t red chili flakes - for those really adventurous)

14 oz full fat, unsweetened coconut milk (not the lite kind - it won't get thick enough)

Fresh basil

1 t peanuts (optional)

Combine the curry paste, chili flakes (if you are using them) and coconut milk - taste to see if this is spicy enough for you, but be careful, it will get spicier as it cooks and even more so as leftovers.  Pour over meat and veggies in a saute pan and heat through.  If the sauce is thin, keep cooking to condense it.  You can also adjust up the heat by adding more curry paste as it cooks.  Serve over cauliflower rice (grate cauliflower with a box grater and microwave until soft).  Garnish with a couple of extra basil leaves and peanuts.