THAI RED CURRY

Another recipe. Another THAI recipe. Yep, that's right, it may be due to the fact that I'm really into Thai dishes at the moment, or it may also be because I bought a coriander plant and I've been wanting to get as much use as possible out of it. The presentation is very a la Wagamama again - I'm not sure why I've been presenting my meals so elegantly lately, but then again I'm quite creative and I personally find it rather therapeutic. But as you'll see, it makes even the simplest meal look a bit more impressive!

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As I said, the recipe is really simple and whilst it works well with the ingredients listed, most of the vegetables can be substituted for whatever you have lying about in the fridge. Now it is slightly a bit of a cop-out, I used curry paste from a jar but it said on the back that it was produced in Thailand so I figured it's pretty authentic, you could make the paste yourself but this just saves a lot of time! But if it ain't broke don't fix it, right? Okay, onto the recipe!

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1 chicken breast, cut into chunks
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 red pepper, cut into strips
• 1/4 red chilli, 1/4 green chilli (or 1/2 of either)
• 175g mange tout/sugar snap peas
• 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste
• 400g tin of coconut milk (I used Blue Dragon light coconut milk for slightly less fat)
• Rice - to make the rice ball I used sushi rice because it's stickier and holds the shape more. Once cooked, I packed the rice down into the mortar (the bowl bit) of a small pestle and mortar as it seemed to be the ideal size and shape for a serving of rice. So quantities of rice will vary depending on the size of the bowl. Of course you don't have to present it this way! Just cook the rice according to the packet instructions.

To serve:

• a few slices of red and green chilli
• 1 spring onion sliced
• a few sprigs of coriander
• lime quarters

Method

• Heat a frying pan with a little vegetable oil, add the chicken and onion, stirring so the onions don't burn.
• Once the chicken is cooked, add the pepper, chilli and mange tout. Stir fry.
• Add the curry paste and stir so everything is well coated. Turn down the heat and add the coconut milk, stirring so everything blends together. Leave to simmer on a low heat.
• At the same time cook the rice according to the packet instructions.
• To serve, turn out the rice ball/mound onto a place and spoon the curry around the rice. Sprinkle the sliced chilli and spring onion onto the curry, then sprinkle with sprigs of coriander. Serve a lime wedge on top of the rice mound.

And there you have it! A really simple meal but if you take the time to present it nicely, it's sure to wow your hungry guests.