← Nouns Cooking · Thai

Ingredients

• 120 ml thick coconut cream
• 3 tbsp red curry paste (or kaeng kua paste)
• 450 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 400 ml Coconut milk
• 200 ml Water
• 600 g Winter melon, peeled, seeded and cut into 3 cm chunks
• 4 Makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, torn
• 2 tbsp Fish sauce
• 1 tbsp Palm sugar, grated
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste (optional)
• 1 handful Thai basil

Method

1. Simmer the coconut cream in a saucepan over medium heat for 2–3 minutes until the oil starts to separate, then fry the curry paste in it for 2 min, stirring, until fragrant.
2. Add the chicken and stir for 2–3 minutes until coated and no longer pink on the outside.
3. Pour in the coconut milk and water, add the winter melon and lime leaves and simmer gently for 12–15 min, until the melon turns translucent and tender and the chicken is cooked through.
4. Season with fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind. It should be salty and rich with a gentle sweet-sour finish.
5. Stir in the basil and serve with jasmine rice.

Tips

• No winter melon? Use chayote, courgette or daikon and adjust the cooking time.
• Most curry pastes contain shrimp paste.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Hungry in Thailand ImportFood