Asian Cravings: Panang Gai Curry

Happy sunday peeps,

And yet another weekend is coming to an end. Why oh why do weekends pass by so fast?! And why oh why must weekdays be so long?! Is it because in the weekends you can do whatever the beep you want? Whereas the weekdays are filled with work and doing things one 'must' do, such as cooking, cleaning, sports to stay in shape?? 

Hmm could be, which is why I have decided that my goal in life is to have absolute pleasure in my work, and if I don't, well then I'll change. Because let's face it, you are stuck in the office or wherever a lot of hours of the week, so better make the best out of it. 

Another thing that I decided is to take away all the 'must do's' and turn them into 'wants': I must not do anything, instead I will do them because I want them. I want to clean the house because I want a clean house, I want to cook because I want a healthy and good dinner, I want to go running because it makes me look and feel good. Most importantly, if I want to see my friends I will see them no matter what day it is. Why limit yourself to the weekends? Let's make the best out of every day!!!

What do you like to do most on the weekends? 

Speaking about giving in on 'wants'..... once in a while, as we know from the beginning of this blog, I want and absolutely MUST give in on my Asian cravings. For these emergencies I always have my panang gai curry and coconut milk ready to turn into a yummy, fast and most of all easy curry. 

For Italians out there: check out the asian or international food stores near Centrale or on the borders of the city to get the ingredients...you'll be surprised about the number of things you can get there other than Italian shizzle.

Ingredients: serves 2

• 2 espresso cups of rice
• 300 gr of chicken cut in cubes
• 1 green pepper cut in cubes
• 1 paksoi cut in chunks
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
• 2 teaspoons panang gai curry
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon lime leaves

How to make it:

Bring a big pan of water with a fist of salt to a boil. Add the rice and cook it according to the pack - usually it's around 10 - 15 minutes.

In the meanwhile you heat up one tablespoon of sunflower oil (olive oil is too strong for asian food), and you add the curry. Stir until it slightly melts a bit into the oil. Then you add the coconut milk. Heat it up before you start adding the chicken and vegetables.

Once you added the chicken and vegetables (which you can do at the same time) you let the whole simmer for 5 minutes in order for it to cook and suck in all the flavors. Then you add the fish sauce, peanut butter and lime leaves. Stir for another 2-3 minutes. 

The rice should be done by now. If it's cooked before the curry is done, then you can take it out of the water and let it steam a bit. 

Outcome: serve the rice with the curry and simply enjoy... nothing else... just enjoy! 

Panang Gai Curry

Buon Appetito
Chef Steph & Chef Cathinka