Thai Coconut Curry

I am a big fan of Thai food, and have been experimenting with making it myself at home. This recipe is really easy (Kenzie, I'm looking at you), tastes great, is incredibly versatile. I made it with frozen shrimp because that's the protein I had in my apartment, but you can make it just as easily with tofu, chicken, pork or beef, or even some combo of them. Likewise, I used the veggies I had around, so don't feel constrained by my choices; you can mix it up - add broccoli, snow peas, cauliflower, tomatoes, or shredded carrots. I would say you probably want sturdier veggies because something like spinach will just fall apart, but it's really up to you.

Thai Coconut Curry with Shrimp

Makes 5 large servings

Ingredients

1 can coconut milk (1 2/3 cups)

~3 Tbsp curry paste (I used yellow, you can use red or green if you have it)

~12 cups chopped veggies [I used 2 large red bell peppers, 2 large green bell peppers, 1.5 yellow onions, a can of bean sprouts, a can of water chestnuts, and half a container (about 3/4 cup) mushrooms]

1 lime

2 Tbsp chopped ginger

5 portions of protein (I used 50 medium-large shrimp, you could also use about 1 1/2 blocks of tofu, 4 chicken breasts, etc.) + 1/2-1 Tbsp oil to cook it in

Equipment

Cutting board and knife

Large pot (Dutch oven is ideal)

Can opener

Measuring spoon

Small saucepan (if protein isn't cooked)

Instructions

1. Cut your protein of choice into cubes (you can keep shrimp whole) and saute in a pan with oil if not cooked yet.

2. Wash, then chop/slice veggies into bite size pieces. Rinse any canned veggies (this helps wash away some of the sodium, which is almost always more than you want).

3. Pour coconut milk into large pot set over medium heat. Refill empty can with water and pour into the pot too. Add the ginger and curry paste and stir to combine.

4. Add chopped veggies and simmer in coconut milk mixture until cooked through (time will vary depending on what veggies you use). When veggies are mostly cooked, add cooked protein and stir to distribute.

You can eat the curry plain, or over rice. It reheats very well, and also freezes well.