Did I mention that I love pumpkin? Oh yes, so I did. Well, the pumpkin obsession continues and long may it reign. I stumbled across this combination on a rushed Friday evening when takeaway was not an option (penny-pinching) and I had half a roasted pumpkin waiting in the fridge to be eaten. I pulled out a frozen chicken breast from the freezer, grabbed my favourite thai curry paste from the fridge and within half an hour I had a dinner so darn yummy I went back for seconds and thirds. I ate so much of this curry that I ended up with a full-on food baby. It was most amusing.
Like most curries, adapt to suit your taste. Maybe a bit of aubergine would be nice? Or some bamboo shoots? Some fine green beans? Basically this is the best way to eat loads of vegetables all at once because the sauce is incredibly more-ish. And as someone who is not the biggest fan of the healthy green stuff, this is ideal.
I blogged about Mae Ploy curry pastes a couple of years ago (one of my first posts actually) but I will mention them again. I think they are the best on the market. These curry pastes are the most similar to the ones the Thai cooks I met in Thailand use. On my Thai cookery course in Chiang Mai, my teacher taught me that Thai cooks would make up batches of curry paste then cover with a layer of oil so they can keep them on the shelf for a few weeks/months and take a spoon out each time they make curry. Simple. Just add coconut milk.
Chicken and Pumpkin Thai Red Curry (serves 2-4)
- 1-2 chicken breasts, diced into 1cm squares
- half a roasted pumpkin, diced into 2-3cm squares
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 2tbsp vegetable/sunflower oil
- a handful of mange tout, cut into bitesize pieces
- a handful of babycorn, cut into bitesize pieces
- 1 tbsp Mae Ploy Thai Red Curry Paste (add more if you like it spicy)
- 1 can of coconut milk (330ml)
- 1tbsp fish sauce
- Fry the chicken in a little oil until just cooked. Remove and set aside.
- In a medium-large saucepan fry the onions on a medium heat. Sprinkle with a little salt. Cook until they begin to colour.
- Add the curry paste and stir well. Add 1/3 of the coconut milk and keep stirring until the paste and coconut milk is combined. Pour in the rest of the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
- Add the chicken, mange tout and babycorn and cook for 5 minutes. Keep the heat on medium-low. Stir occasionally.
- Add fish sauce and pumpkin. Gently stir through. Cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Serve with a bowl of steaming hot rice.
- Optional: Garnish with fresh coriander, extra chilli flakes if you like spice. Or even some fresh chillies. I like an extra squeeze of lime.