Chicken in Red Curry with Sticky Rice

For any of my Canadian friends, I'm sure you're familiar with Loblaws Supermarkets. If you've never done one of their Loblaws Upstairs cooking classes at the bigger stores, you really need to! They're awesome! A few months ago I did a Thai cooking class with my future mother-in-law led by chef Florence Kwok and we had a blast. Every single one of the recipes Florence taught us was awesome, but here's one I've made a few times since because of it's simplicity and deliciousness!

Chicken in Red Curry
1-1/2 lbs boneless & skinless chicken thigh fillets 
1 can cut baby corn
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2 cans thick coconut milk (don't shake up!)
2-3 tbsp red curry paste (A Taste of Thai brand in the packet, not the jar, it has more flavour)
1 bunch fresh basil leaves

• Cut chicken into large pieces
• Cook curry paste in heated pan with 1 cup of coconut milk, stirring, until it thickens and oil starts to seperate (if you don't shake up the can, you won't have oil since it will be left at the bottom of the can, so just cook to thicken)
• Add chicken to pan ; cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Add another cup of coconut milk and turn heat down to simmer. Continue to cook for 15-20 minutes until chicken is tender.
• Add baby corns, peppers and more coconut milk (if necessary). Continue cooking for a few more minutes until corns are heated through. 
• Turn off heat and add basil leaves
• Serve over sticky rice

** Veronica's notes  - I used cut up chicken breasts rather than thighs because I prefer it. The cooking time was the same. Florence recommends you use air chilled chicken which has less moisture. I asked Florence about substituting in low fat coconut milk to which she replied "You only live once! You're not eating this every night!" so I've lived by that mantra ;)

The Easiest Best Sticky Rice You'll Ever Make
2 cups sweet glutinous rice, rinsed 
2 cups water

• Soak the sticky rice for 10 minutes in hot water in a non-plastic, microwave friendly bowl. Do not skip this step!!!
• Cover the bowl with a dish (a plate works best) and cook in the microwave at full power for 3 minutes. 
• Stir the rice around moving from top to bottom
• Cook for another 2 minutes on full power
• Check to see if done, and if not, continue to cook and check every minute or so until rice is cooked (should look translucent). The timing will vary based on your microwave. 

** I doubled this recipe and it took a fair bit longer, probably about 10 minutes (double the time, duh) and made about 12 servings. Seriously, it was so sticky I couldn't get it off my fingers. That's some good sticky rice!! Enjoy!