Recipes from Around the World: Thai Green Chicken Curry

One of my culinary goals for the year is to explore flavors from different cultures and countries around the world.  It's easy to get stuck in a rut with the same mundane dinners week after week, but I am embracing the challenge to step out of my culinary comfort zone.  My best friend gave me this beautiful cookbook for Christmas a couple years ago, and I thought this would be a great place to start.  This international cookbook from Women for Women International features a wide range of recipes from world-class chefs to everyday families, and flavors from Iraq and Turkey to Nigeria and South Sudan.  The mission is to celebrate diversity and acknowledge a shared humanity.

Here are just a few of the beautiful quotes throughout this book:

"Now I can imagine a tomorrow that could be better than today."

"As a global citizen I believe that where and to whom and what gender you are born should not determine your destiny.  The building blocks of opportunities such as education, health care and employment can transform lives."

"There is nothing better than putting a plate of delicious food on the table for the people you love."

For the first month of my culinary journey, I stuck with something familiar and fairly simple that I knew the hubby and I would both enjoy.  Cheers!

Thai Green Chicken Curry

(From Share: The Cookbook that Celebrates our Common Humanity)

Ingredients:

14 oz can coconut milk

2 tablespoons green Thai curry paste

1 large bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 lb chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon nam pla (fish cause)

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

Handful of fresh basil, thinly sliced

Juice of 1 lime

Steamed rice

Fresh cilantro leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1.  Pour 1/2 cup of the coconut milk into a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  Stir in the curry paste and bring to a boil, stirring continuously.

2.  Add the bell pepper and onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened.  Stir in the chicken with the remaining coconut milk, and add the sugar and nam pla.  Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked through and there is no pink meat.

3.  Add the tomatoes, basil leaves, and lime juice and simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until piping hot.  Season, scatter with the cilantro leaves, and serve with steamed rice.

Enjoy!!

Cooking the curry

Enjoy!

Notes:  Next time I make this I would add a green bell pepper and peas, and increase the spice level with cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or additional green curry paste.