Thai curry MASTERCHEF MAKEOVER
This month BBC MasterChef judge John Torode takes one of our most highly rated curries at bbcgoodfoodme.com and gives it a Thai twist
John’s Thai chicken curry The raw beansprouts add great texture to this dish, and I love the fiery heat from the fresh chilli. If you like it extra hot, serve with a spicy Thai chilli sauce. SERVES 2 PREP 10 mins COOK 25 mins EASY
Good Food’s contributing editor John Torode is a chef, food writer and TV presenter, and has been a judge on MasterChef for 11 years. Every month he reinvents one of the most popular recipes from our website. @JohnTorode1
I
love a homemade curry, and Good Food’s chicken, sweet potato & coconut curry is quick to make and deservedly a hit. But I wanted to give the recipe additional authentic flavours, so I’ve added some dried lime leaves, lemongrass and ginger, plus some Thai red curry paste. The wider availability of Thai and other south-east Asian ingredients has made it so much easier to cook dishes like this at home. The secret is the way you make it –sauce first and chicken in last. You need to get flavour from the sauce, then simply poach the chicken in it, otherwise the chicken will be overcooked and the sauce lacking in flavour. Done right, this clever little chicken curry should transport you to street markets of Bangkok or one of the nearby southern islands.
62 BBC Good Food Middle East February 2017
1 tbsp vegetable oil 400ml can coconut milk 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste (I like the ones that come in plastic tubs – Mae Ploy is a good brand) 2 garlic cloves, grated thumb-sized piece ginger, grated 6 fresh or dried lime leaves 2 lemongrass stalks, bashed 1 chicken stock cube 1 tsp palm sugar 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks 1 tsp Thai fish sauce handful coriander leaves handful beansprouts 2 long red chillies, sliced 2 dried rice noodle nests (100g) 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 In a large, heavy-based pan, heat the vegetable oil with 1 tbsp of the coconut milk. When it’s hot and starting to
splatter, add the red curry paste. Stir and cook gently over a medium-low heat for 1-2 mins – it should start to change colour. Add the garlic, ginger, lime leaves and lemongrass, and turn up the heat a little. Stir and smell it – it will start to change from the smell of raw garlic and spices to roasted ones. As it turns dark red, add the stock cube and the palm sugar – it will melt and become even darker and richer. Add the sweet potato and the fish sauce, then stir until coated in the paste. Add the coconut milk and 200ml water. Stir, bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for 12 mins. 2 Meanwhile, mix the coriander, beansprouts and chilli. Cook and drain the noodles following pack instructions, then tip into in a large serving bowl. Taste the curry and season with some more fish sauce or sweeten with a little sugar if necessary. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil, then tip the chicken into the sauce. Return to the boil and simmer for 5-7 mins. 3 Remove the lemongrass, then spoon the chicken over the noodles and sprinkle with the coriander, chilli and beansprouts to serve. BENEFITS 1 of 5-a-day PER SERVING 830 kcals • fat 43g • saturates 30g • carbs 69g • sugars 14g • fibre 5g • protein 37g • salt 2.6g
Portrait MYLES NEW | Food styling ROSIE BIRKETT | Styling LINDA BERLIN
photograph PETER CASSIDY