Thai Yellow Curry

If there is one type of food the Fish Fam loves it's curry. 

Whether it be Thai, Indian, or Japanese.

It's all so amazingly good.

I worked at a Thai restaurant while in college. The family was from Bangkok and they made the best Thai food in town. Seriously, Thai Ruby is the best! If you live in Provo, Utah area check them out! Here's their menu.They used lots and lots of fresh ingredients. Their mom was very traditional and I loved that she grew her own basil plants out back. They would go to different grocery stores to get the best quality fruits and veggies. Again the mom was very very particular about only picking the best mangoes for their Thai Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice dessert. Oh my, so incredibly good! That being said, it was only a seasonal dessert, so you better believe my husband and I went all the time when it was in season. Which, actually, when my husband and I were first married we ended up living right below this restaurant. I forgot about that! 

The family would make yearly trips back home to Thailand during Christmas Break, which we were always sad to see them closed because we loved going there. They would bring back plenty of their specials ingredients and spices. I specifically remember always picking Thai Ruby to go out for my birthday dinner in January because can you tell I really love Thai food?! Plus when you get a bigger group to go you can do family style and share lots of incredibly good Thai dishes. 

Well, onto the curry, I remember for the most part Thai Ruby used Mae Ploy curry paste, "O" the son who manages the place, said it's the best kind. He also said for Americans they had to make it sweeter and add more sugar. Lol!! But of course, Americans can't really enjoy other cultural foods without adding lots of sugar. Smh. 

Anyways, while shopping I always read the ingredient labels and Mae Ploy has the shortest list and best ingredients. Being that we live on a military base in Japan, my options are slim. So I was happy they have this brand of curry paste. Really though, I ought to make it from scratch, but I have yet to try that!!

Check out the awesome ingredients with NO msg, preservatives, or artificial color added. Looks great to me compared to the super cheap and awful ingredients in the other curry pastes with things like, ya know...MSG, Sodium metabisulfites, #40 yellow yaddah yaddah #5,6 and 7 coloring, etc.! You'll want to stay away from these and other ingredients like them. 

Okay, onto the recipe. I use this recipe on the carton as a guide.....

Directions: 

- I first start off infusing up to 3 minced garlic cloves in the pan. Infuse means to cook on med.-low heat garlic in oil. This will bring out the flavor of the garlic in a very good way. Then I add some chopped onions and sprinkle some salt on top and cook for a few mins. 

- Then I stir-fry 50g about 3.5 Tbsp of Yellow Curry Paste with 1Tbsp oil, then add 1 cup coconut milk. This is also letting the curry paste infuse in the oil to bring out the flavor of the curry. Yum, it's starting to smell sooo good!

-Add 200g of cubed or shredded chicken, which is about 1.5cups and add another 1/2cup coconut milk (which should be the rest of the can) and heat until boiling. 

-Add about 1 cup of cubed potatoes, 1/2 of diced onion, and I add carrots too, then add 1/2 cup water and cook until the vegetables soften. You may want to add the potatoes a little bit later because they cook faster than the onions and carrots.

-Lastly, add 2tsp sugar or to taste.

*I use this recipe as a guide and always double it and add as much curry paste, potatoes, onions, and carrots as I think best. Also, something that makes a huge difference is NOT using water. I use my homemade bone broth or the broth left over from cooking my frozen chicken breast in my instant pot. I also add fresh basil in the end and let it simmer. For more flavor I'll add some Red Boat Fish Sauce. 

*I am also very choosy about the coconut milk I use. Cheap coconut milk brands have some pretty bad additives and preservatives as well. Thai Kitchen is good, but Native Forest Organic Coconut is better. I order mine from Vitacost here. I also love that the can inside is BPA-free. Did you know canned foods are lined with BPA? Fresh is always best. 

*Also, if want more flavor in your meat I would recommend using chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are dark meat and fattier and hold more flavor. 

*So because of my Instant Pot or rather Incredible Pot or now formally named Mr. Incredible...

I can take out my organic frozen chicken breast from the freezer and have it cooked in 30ish mins! I'm tellin' ya this thing is incredible. It has made things so much easier. All you do is put 1.5 cups of water in the pot with 1lb of frozen chicken breast and put it to a manual time of 10mins. After about 10mins it reaches high presses, cooks for 10mins, and then with a natural release pressure of 10mins the chicken is mostly cooked, depending on its thickness. Which I use thicker chicken breast and don't want it cooked all the way through because I'm going to continue cooking it on the stove. So there you have it Mr. Incredible comes to the rescue!

Ok, now go enjoy that curry!!

But wait, don't forget to serve it over white rice or even better Jasmine rice. 

Yum. Yum.

Instant Pot

This was my Christmas present an Instant Pot aka pressure cooker!

But, this isn't any regular old pressure cooker this is an awesome 7-n-1...

Pressure Cooker

Slow Cooker

Rice Cooker 

Saute/Browning 

Yogurt Maker

Steamer/Warmer

Reviews are great on this check it out at Amazon.

We've been using it and I love it.

It is very time and energy efficient.

Here's a great review from Whole Health Source.

I make lots of bone broths in this in the fraction of the time it takes in the crock pot or stove top.

Our soups always turn out so yummy!

So check it out it's totally worth it.

If you end up with one on your counter you'll enjoy it :)

Meatball Soup

This is a life saving leftover’s meal!

I make a lot of bone broth from chicken backs that I get at Wholefoods. After cooking it I let it cool overnight in the fridge and then put it in freezer bags and store in the freezer and get it out when need to use it. Easy peezy!

After heating up the frozen chicken broth I add my cut up veggies...carrots, zucchini, and yellow squash, which most of the time these veggies are pre-steamed or cut up and in a container already in the fridge. I make sure my rice is ready to go as well.

***Always make sure to clean your rice before you cook it!!! After measuring the rice put it in the pot and I like using clean purified water from our water filter to clean the rice over and over by grabbing it with my hands and rubbing it and then dumping the water out carefully to not let the rice dump out. Seriously, repeat this over and over until the water runs clear or is close to it. Rice naturally has arsenic, its in the soil, it can be reduced by cleaning the rice very well. Also, this is what Chinese people do...they always clean their rice!

Then I also used my leftover meatball to add in.

Add in sea salt, pepper, other spices to taste.

*** I also just learned that to make broths low fodmap you have to be careful about what types of bones you use. If it's from bones that still have lots of cartilage and remains it still has, I think, a good amount of polyols that will irritate your gut. It did mine, but it took awhile for me to finally discover it. So, for low fodmap Dr. Allison Siebecker suggests making bone broth that is from purely bones.

Super good!

Chicken "Zoodle" Soup w/ Watercress

My weekly soup for the week made from my own homemade bone broth.

Veggies include...garlic, onions, carrots, celery, butternut squash, zucchini (the zoodles), and Watercress leaves and stems.

Pumpkin Soup :)

Another simple and easy soup...Pumpkin Soup!

Blend together...

Roasted pureed Pumpkin

Onions & Garlic

2 cups chicken stock

Fresh Mint

Nutmeg & Cinnamon

Salt

Later on when I would heat up my soup on the stove I added some Anish, peas, and chicken meat.

Butternut Chicken Soup

I really love cooking with all kinds of winter squash. Butternut is especially one of my favorites. It was also my kids favorite baby food that I would make. I made my own bone broth with 11 organic chicken drumsticks and over a two day period let the bones boil. I added garlic, onions, and salt. Then the last 30 minutes I added...carrots and celery. Butternut squash cooked quickly, so add it in about the last 10 minutes. Add the zucchini noodles very last. They are thin and will cook very fast.

I used a whole butternut squash and peeled it, scraped it out, and cut it up in cubes. One of the best things about winter squash is that they can sit on your counter for a really long time, or even months in a cool dark place.

Lastly, I julienned zucchini to make "noodles." I love my Titan Peelers that used to peel the impossible butternut squash outer layer and the handy julienne tool.

I added oregano, sea salt, and pepper to taste.

So Yummy!

Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp oil

3 Cloves Garlic, sliced

4 Ribs of Celery, sliced

4-5 Carrots, diced

1 Head of Cabbage, shredded

2 boxes of Organic Chicken Broth

Or Homemade Bone Broth

Precooked 3-4 Chicken Breast or

5-10 Drumsticks (meat off the bone)

1 Tbsp Onion Powder

1 Tbsp Garlic Powder

1 Tbsp Oregano

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop up garlic, celery, carrots, and cabbage.

2. Heat oil, I used grapeseed oil, in large soup pot, then add garlic and cook/stir 10-20 sec. Add celery and stir for 1 min.

3. Add carrots and 1 cup of broth. Cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add the rest of the broth, all of the cabbage, cooked chicken or thinly sliced raw chicken breast, and onion, garlic, and oregano.

5. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat accordingly. It doesn't take very long to cook.

*This was a fast process for me because I already had a reserve of finely chopped garlic and cooked and shredded chicken meat in the fridge. Earlier this week I baked a whole chicken and used the meat throughout the week. Also, when I bake a chicken I like to put lots of onions at the bottom of the whole chicken and then scoop it all out with some of the fat and juice to store with the meat. I think this soup came out so tasty because I added all the onions and fat to this soup.

**This is an altered recipe I came up with from a previous recipe. I'm doing a cleanse that is restoring the health of my gut. Lots of good soups to make. Check out www.livehealthwise.com for other good recipes. 

Coconut Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp coconut oil

4 cloves of garlic

1 med. onion

3 ribs of celery, sliced

2 in. ginger, peeled, grated

4 carrots, shredded

1 tsp. Fish Sauce (opt.)

1 Tbsp. Tai Kitchen green curry paste

1 cup green beans

1 can coconut milk

1 box chicken broth

1 head of cauliflower

1 lb cubed chicken

Leaves of fresh basil, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large frying pan on Medium high.

2. Add garlic first and stir for 10 to 20 seconds before it burns. Add onions stir for 1min. Then add celery stir for 4 min until crisp-tender.

3. Add carrots and ginger. Stir for 5min.

4. Add Fish Sauce, curry, 1 cup of broth, and green beans. 

5. Cover and let cook for 5 min. 

6. Shake can of coconut milk then add to pan. Next add the remaining broth. 

7. Bring to low boil then add meat and caulifower. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and let cook for 15-20min.

8. Put into bowl with fresh sliced basil and rice noodles or rice. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste.

I enjoyed it as a soup (w/out grains) and my family enjoyed it with Vermicelli Noodles. Or it would be great over rice, quinoa, or whatever you prefer.

*There is very little heat (just about none) I prefer more heat, so add some kind of peppers, for more flavor don't go easy on the garlic or ginger. Add or change any veggies to your liking. Something like this is always better the next day after all the flavors have time to soak in. I really enjoyed our leftovers for breakfast...I couldn't wait to save it for lunch!

Green Curry paste with simple and flavorful ingredients.

If you don't make and use your own homemade broth, then this is a very fast and easy alternative. Ingredients are good and a box of this at Costco is a great buy.

I make sure to buy coconut milk with no preservatives. I really like this brand, plus it's a BPA Free can. Another good brand is Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk Unsweetened (coconut milk, water, guar gum). Many other brands of coconut milk, especially the inexpensive kinds contain metabisulfites. Read about it here. I also put the can in the fridge to use the cream that separates to the top to use in my smoothies and also to make coconut whip cream.

**This is an altered recipe I came up with from a previous recipe. I'm doing a cleanse that is restoring the health of my gut. Lots of good soups to make. Check out www.livehealthwise.com for other good recipes. 

More Chicken Soup...

I make homemade chicken soup almost weekly. Making the broth from chicken bones is really healthy and provides our bodies and gut with good nutrients. I'm always adding in different things to change it up a bit. For my kids I put in some cooked quinoa.

Another day with julienned zucchini. This is my favorite.

And lots and lots of freshly chopped kale right from the garden.

Chicken Zucchini Noodle Soup

Chicken Zucchini Noodle Soup

I made my own Chicken Bone Broth. Added garlic, onions, celery, and strips of zucchini.

Coconut Chicken Curry

 Super yummy with so many spices!

Coconut milk, made my own chicken bone broth, organic chicken meat, onions, garlic, ginger, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach. Spices consisted of red chili powder, cilantro (coriander) powder, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, & mustard seeds.

Chicken Soup

 I like making my own bone broth or chicken stock from a whole organic chicken. I bake it, take the meat off, and then boil the carcass for the whole day with garlic, onions, and celery. Then I have lots of chicken meat for salad's, soups, sandwiches, and curries!

Check out Wellness Mama Bone Broth Benefits, "Homemade bone broth is an incredibly nutrient dense food and it is also very inexpensive to make. Broth is packed with minerals, gut-soothing gelatin and amino acids proline and glycine. Broth’s natural gelatin content helps sooth the digestive track and improve nutrient absorption." 

For more good info check out her "How to make bone broth" tutorial and explanation of why it's so good and healthy for us to consume.

After letting the broth boil for a day, the next day I pulled it out of the fridge and then added potatoes, carrots, onions, some of the chicken meat, and rice. It was really fast, simple, and good! Especially, with some toasted Rosemary Bread.

Udon Wonton Soup With Veggies

These wonton's are from Costco and don't have that many ingredients, which we like. I boiled a pot of water and then added organic chicken paste. Then added all the wontons, veggies, and pre-cooked udon noodles. It all cooked quickly and was really good!