Thai Curry

One of my favorite places to eat is this little Thai restaurant down the street, they have the most delicious red curry I have ever eaten!! It was a tradition to go there once a week to get my fix. That also meant I was consuming white rice, which leaves me feeling bloated afterward. I was determined to find a recipe that satisfied my craving for red curry while meeting the following stipulations: 1) quick to prepare, 2) tastes good, and 3) doesn't leave me feeling bloated afterward. While this doesn't taste exactly like the dish from my favorite place, it is still awesome! This meal takes less than 30 minutes from the time you start prepping to the time you are eating it. What more could you ask for?! To add an extra notch of awesomeness, pair it with cauliflower rice cooked in chicken broth.

The original recipe is from Everyday Paleo and it is a little bland for my taste so I played with the spices and found that the flavors of Sriracha sauce pairs nicely with this curry. A little bit goes a long way so start with a little and add more as needed. You can always add more but taking away is impossible a little more difficult :)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb meat (Pork, chicken or shrimp), cut into bite sized pieces.
• 1 lb vegetables (I made it easy on myself and bought the bag of stir fry frozen veggies but you can use fresh), if using fresh, cut until bite sized pieces
• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• 0.5 oz Thai Kitchen Curry Paste (You can get this in the Asian food section of Whole Foods or Fresh Market. I think even Publix carries it)
• Fish Sauce (Look for a brand without sugar, I use Red Boat found at Whole Foods and Fresh Market)
• Salt to taste
• Sriracha Sauce to taste (optional for spicier curry, I used about 2 tbsp for the entire recipe)

Directions:

1. Start by preheating a large pot or wok. Crank it to high and get it smoking hot. 
2. Gather all of your ingredients and have them ready on the counter to use. Some of the steps happen pretty fast. 
3. Open the can of coconut milk. DO NOT SHAKE IT! You want it to be as separated as possible. Scoop the thick cream out (should be about the top half of the can) and carefully place it in the hot pan. This step is called “cracking the coconut” and it is crucial to getting proper curry. Heat/boil/stir the coconut cream for a good 3 minutes. You want it to reduce and break. You will see a change happen where the coconut oil breaks out as the water is evaporated. At this time add your curry paste and mix well to blend it in. The hot coconut fat will do magic on the curry paste and cause the essential oils in the paste to break out.
4. Add the meat strips to the bubbling goo along with a few splashes of fish sauce and a couple pinches of salt then stir-fry until mostly cooked, about 6 minutes.
5. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to transfer the meat out and replace with the vegetables. If you can keep both in the pan, great. With the vegetables in the pan, add the remainder of the coconut milk from the can. Add a couple squirts of Sriracha sauce if desired, mix well, then simmer another 4-5 minutes or until everything is cooked.

Adapted from www.everydaypaleo.com