Mango Red Curry Chicken with Coconut Cauliflower Rice

Red curry paste has only recently become a staple in my kitchen. Honestly, I don't know what took me so long. It’s an easy way to add a punch of complex flavors to your dishes with minimal effort. Generally the paste consists of chili peppers, garlic, lemongrass, cumin, cilantro, fish sauce and let’s not forget galangal – a root that tastes kind of like ginger. All this and all you have to do is measure out a few teaspoons. I can no longer imagine cooking without it.
 

As always, this recipe is just a starting point. The onions, garlic, paste, broth and coconut milk are just a sauce. You can replace chicken with chickpeas for a vegetarian version or change up the vegetables: put in snow peas, broccoli, wilted spinach, red bell peppers or carrots. Whatever you feel like!!

As for the cauliflower rice, I’m a HUGE fan. It’s so fluffy and light, but still soaks up the sauce – all this at a fraction of the calories in rice. One cup of white rice has about 200 calories compared with 30 for a cup of cauiflower. Plus you get vitamin C, potassium, fiber and some folate. Like other cruciferous veggies, cauiflower is also famous for its cancer-fighting properties. The vegetable contains sulforaphane, which enters the bloodstream and boosts your antioxicant defense system and helps the body disarm and remove carcenogenic compounds from the body. And these are just a few of the reason to give cauliflower a try!

Mango Red Curry Chicken

Coconut oil
3 chicken breasts, sliced in thin bite-sized pieces
1 large onion, sliced

2 tsp. plus red Thai curry paste (adjust to taste)

1/2 lb. (approx. 500g) green beans
2 medium zucchini, sliced in sticks

2-inch ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves

1 cup of chicken broth

15 oz. can coconut milk

2 T. soy sauce (adjust to taste)

2 T. fish sauce (replace with 1 T. white vinegar for sugar-free version)
Zest and juice from 1 lime
1 mango, fruit flesh diced in chunks

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

 

1. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Stir-fry chicken in two batches until done (about 5 minutes each time). Set aside.
2.  Add a few tablespoons of oil, onion and ginger and cook until onions are translucent about 5 minutes.
3. Add pressed garlic and curry paste, stirring frequently until garlic begin to show color, then immediately pour in broth and coconut milk.
4. Add green beans, put a lid on it and cook until tender about 5 minutes. Add zucchini and cook an additional 3 minutes with lid on.
5. Remove lid, add chicken, lime juice, zest and fish sauce/vinegar. Taste sauce and adjust spice with curry paste.*
6. Turn off heat. Add freshly cut mango and combine. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Note: Serve with lime or a yogurt-cilantro sauce if you want to dial back the heat.

* If you want a thicker sauce, dissolve 2 T. cornstarch in 3 T. of water, add it to the pan and cook until the sauce thickens.

Coconut Cauliflower Rice
 

1 medium head cauliflower, grated

1 T. coconut oil

1/3 cup coconut milk

1/3 cup of shaved coconut

Salt and pepper

1. Heat oil in a nonstick frying pan on medium. Add cauliflower and sauté, stirring frequently until it is soft and gives off a enough moisture to begin browning in areas.
2. Turn off heat and add coconut milk and shaved coconut.
3. Season with salt and pepper and serve.