John's Thai chicken curry

• vegetable oil↗1 tbsp tbsp
• can coconut milk↗400ml ml
• Thai red curry paste↗1 tbsp tbsp

  (I like the ones that come in plastic tubs - Mae Ploy is a good brand)

• garlic cloves↗2

  grated

• ginger↗thumb-sized piece

  thumb-sized piece

• fresh or dried lime leaves6
• lemongrass2

  stalks, bashed

• chicken stock cube↗1
• palm sugar↗1 tsp tsp
• sweet potato↗1

  peeled and cut into chunks

• Thai fish sauce↗1 tsp tsp
• corianderhandful

  handful

• beansproutshandful

  handful

• long red chillies↗2

  sliced

• dried rice noodles↗2

  nests (100g)

• chicken breasts↗2

  cut into bite-sized pieces

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   1 In a large, heavy-based pan , heat the vegetable oil with 1 tbsp of the coconut milk. When it’s hot and starting to splatter, add the red curry paste. Stir and cook gently over a medium-low heat for 1-2 mins – it should start to change colour. Add the garlic, ginger, lime leaves and lemongrass, and turn up the heat a little. Stir and smell it – it will start to change from the smell of raw garlic and spices to roasted ones. As it turns dark red, add the stock cube and the palm sugar – it will melt and become even darker and richer. Add the sweet potato and the fish sauce, then stir until coated in the paste. Add the coconut milk and 200ml water . Stir, bring to the boil , then turn down to a simmer and cook for 12 mins.

2. 2

   Meanwhile, mix the coriander, beansprouts and chilli. Cook and drain the noodles following pack instructions, then tip into in a large serving bowl. Taste the curry and season with some more fish sauce or sweeten with a little sugar if necessary. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil, then tip the chicken into the sauce. Return to boil and simmer for 5-7 mins.

3. 3

   Remove the lemongrass, then spoon the chicken over the noodles and sprinkle with the coriander, chilli and beansprout s to serve.