gourmet babble

• 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp Thai red curry powder
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp water
• 1/2 large white or yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 can (2.5 oz) water chestnuts, drained and diced
• 2 cloves roasted garlic, smashed
• 1/3 - 1/2 lb chicken (preferably breast meat)
• 1/2 can (7 oz) coconut milk
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 Thai red chile, seeded and sliced
• juice of 1 lime

Marinade ingredients:

• 1/2 tbsp Thai red curry powder
• 1/2 tbsp Sunny Singapore seasoning
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Combine ingredients for marinade and put chicken in mixture in refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours (can be combined with defrosting frozen chicken if done overnight). Be sure to rotate or flip occasionally so chicken marinates evenly. (I prefer to put the chicken and marinade in a single layer in a small Ziploc bag, sealing with a minimum of remaining air; this allows me to use a bare minimum amount of marinade and it is trivially easy to flip the Ziploc to ensure even absorption.) Just before using, remove chicken from marinade and cut into 1/2 in strips.

Set a medium to large pot on medium heat. While the pot is heating, make a paste by mixing the remaining 2 tbsp of Thai red curry powder and 2 tbsp of water. Once the pot is hot, add 1 tbsp of sesame oil to the pot and let heat. Add curry paste; stir until fragrant (approximately 1-2 minutes). Add chicken and stir for 2 minutes. Add onion and remaining 1/2 tbsp of oil; stir until onion begins to soften (approximately 3-4 minutes). Add potatoes, water chestnuts, garlic, coconut milk, remaining water, kaffir lime lives, red chile, and lime juice; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30-45 minutes. Stir occasionally. When potatoes are soft, remove from heat and serve.

Notes: I cut the potato chunks too big and for a while had the heat too low, so I had to cook for more than an hour and half to get the potatoes even close to done. I also cut the chicken pieces too small. The net effect was that the chicken literally simmered into shreds. In the future, I hope that proper size of ingredients and temperature control on my simmering will alleviate those issues. It was very tasty, however — especially the "soup".

This probably will serve 4. The entire dish had approximately 80 mg of sodium, so each serving has a mere 20 mg of sodium.

I used a recipe from the Spice House, Thai Vegetable Curry, as a large percentage of the base for this dish, having made that recipe (in a mostly non-varied form) previously with significant success. A recipe from a local haute Thai restaurant, Arun's, showed up on Epicurious (via Bon Appétit magazine), which served as the base of inspiration for how to add chicken. (The recipe from Arun's was Thai Red Curry Soup with Chicken and Vegetables.) I then merged other recipes and extemporized from there.