Wednesday, March 4, 2015

It's a Breeze! Thai Curry with Acorn Squash

It's cold in Chicago right now. As in 24 degrees high today and we are all rejoicing because it's above the teens and single digits.

So what's better than a tasty warming Thai curry when it's cold out?



Turns out Thai curries are a cinch on a weekday. You basically just simmer everything together in a single pot. No browning or sauteeing needed. AND you can hide lots of tasty nutritious vegetables in there. *I also eat mine with some spinach on the side for extra iron.



I love Acorn squash. It's kind of between a sweet potato and regular potato in terms of starchiness and sweetness, so I sub it for many recipes that call for either for extra green and less calories (40 vs 86 calories per 100 gram serving! Though sweet potato has at least 4 times the vitamin A. More info here).

You'll need the following:

1 can of yellow massaman curry paste (I love yellow curries)



1 can of coconut milk



1 pack of skinless boneless chicken thighs - about 4-5 (you can use chicken breast but thigh is more tender) - cut into 1 inch chunks



1/2 head of cauliflower - cut into thumb sized hunks



1 acorn squash - cut into 1 inch pieces



3 red bell peppers - cut into 1 inch pieces



To cook:

Make some rice first! Otherwise you won't have anything to eat the curry with. I make brown rice in my rice cooker. If you don't have a rice cooker, follow the directions here on making rice. *some people use jasmine rice, which is super fragrant!

Use a big pot or sauce pan that will fit all the ingredients comfortably. Set it on the burners, and turn the heat on to medium. Wait for about 30 seconds and then add about 1 tsp of vegetable oil. Then add the curry paste in and lightly sautee until the fragrance of the paste comes out. Then add the can of coconut milk, including the cream and the liquid. Stir to mix well and simmer for about 2-3 minutes.

You will need to remove the seeds from the acorn squash. First rinse the squash well since you're leaving the skin on in the curry. To slice it in half, first lay it on its side and slice off the top, so you'll have a flat surface. Then lay it on the flat cut plane and slice the squash in half (you may need a large knife). Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Slice the squash into cubes and place them in the simmering curry sauce. Cook on medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes, or just until the squash starts to become transparent at the edges. *You should cover the pot when simmering to increase the pressure of the steam and decrease the cooking time.

Rinse the cauliflower and remove the green stems. Slice the head in half. Separate half a head of cauliflower into 2 inch sized florets. Place the florets into the simmering pot and combine with the acorn squash 5 minutes after the squash have been cooking (the squash takes the longest to cook so it goes in first).

After 15 minutes, add the chicken thigh pieces and stir well. Cover and simmer for about 5-8 minutes. Add the bell pepper pieces and simmer for another 5-8 minutes or just until the peppers are tender and the chicken pieces are well cooked.

At this point the rice should be ready, and you can serve the curry directly on the rice. Super easy one pot meal. Nutritious and delicious, and you didn't even have to order out! :D

Vegans and vegetarians you can just omit the chicken thighs probably or use some seitan. Yum num num... ***This is also a great recipe to cook to impress some guests. You can run around cleaning your place and everything will simmer to perfection.