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| One-pot Red Curry Chicken and Rice |
I love the Stone Soup Story. Have you heard
it before? Basically;
An old weary traveller arrives in a village
one evening, tired from his journey. Hungry, he asks some of the villagers to
share their food, but they all turned him away. Slowly, the old man made his
way to the village square and set up a single cooking pot. He took a stone from
his bag and placed it in the bottom of the pot, and then he poured some water
over it and brought it to a boil. The villagers, curious about what he was
doing, gathered around the old man. When asked what he was doing, he replied
“Oh I’m just making my famous stone soup. This magic stone I have in this pot
makes the most fantastic soup! So filling and fragrant..oh it’s delicious! If
only… but…oh…oh nevermind…”.
“What? What is it old man? What?” the
villagers prompted.
“Well…it is a brilliant soup mind you.
Absolutely brilliant simply on it’s own. Such a simple, flavourful broth the
stone makes…but oh! It would be just that much better with some cabbage. But
nevermind nevermind…I will be more than content with this soup the way it is”
“I have some cabbage!” a woman called form
the back. “Here my dear old man. Take it for your soup.”
“Why thank you!” the traveller cried,
taking the crisp leaves and adding them to his boiling pot. “Oh this will make
it so much nicer! Oh how kind of you! The soup was going to be brilliant before
but now it will be simply sublime! But oh…if only…oh but nevermind there is no
need simply no need….”
“No no tell us please! But what, old man?”
“Well…..this soup will be wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful mind you,” he replied, “but it would be just that more
delicious if it had just a few onions. Just a few onions would truly make it
food of the Gods! But alas…there is none to be found here so never mind. It
will be simply delicious just as it is.”
And so it went, the old man would have the
villagers volunteering little scraps of meat and vegetables they had in their
homes to add to this magical stone soup. Very soon, the soup was indeed, a most
flavourful broth made rich with all the contributions of the village. The old
man then fished the stone out from the bottom of the pot and together he and
the villagers feasted, for together they had produced this delicious soup and
delicious things are meant to be shared.
As I look forward and see my graduation
ceremony coming up next week, I find myself thinking of the Stone Soup. I think
of all those villagers adding to the pot without actually meaning to, and the
old man who brought them together. Most of all I think of that soup. I think
about how it started out as some water with a stone in it and became so much
more through the gifts of people who didn’t realize what they were doing.
In a week, I’ll be graduating from the
University of St. Andrews with a 2:1 degree in behavioural biology.
I’ll try not to get too heavy handed with
the metaphor here…but I think you all get where I’m going with this. Yes, my
degree was a result of my hard work, but as cheesy as it sounds I wouldn’t be
here if it weren’t for a very supportive network of friends and family. I have
so many people to thank.
My parents, who worked so hard to give me
the very best education they could afford.
My academic mother who has always kept tabs
on my progress in university, when it would have been so easy to fade out of
contact once she graduated, and has always been ready with encouragement and
advice.
My godparents who did the same, and made
sure I knew I was always welcome in their home when university madness got too
much.
My lecturers who got me interested and
passionate enough in their courses that I kept going and didn’t just quit.
My friends, who made me laugh when I needed
it most.
My housemates, who made our little student
dig a home.
Their families, who adopted me and made
sure I knew I was just as much a part of their family as their daughters were.
My boyfriend, who has never been more than
a Skype call away.
The future is looking very bright,
promising and scary. Mostly scary to be honest. All the same, I’m looking
forward to all the new experiences I’m going to have and all the new people I
stand to meet. Here’s to celebrating the past four years and the next chapter
of my life about to begin.
Here’s to new pots of Stone Soup.
One-pot Thai Red Curry Chicken and Rice
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| Because if you're going to be celebrating, the last thing you want to be doing is washing pots and pans |
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp of your favourite thai curry paste ( I use my own from recipe here)
- 1 chicken breast, cubed small
- 1 cup basmati rice (washed till the water runs clear)
- 1 cup light coconut milk
- ¾ cup water
- 2 kafir lime leaves
- 1 lemongras stalk (with the ends smashed with the side of a knife)
- ½ cup frozen peas (steamed in the microwave)
- ¼ cup fresh coriander (chopped finely, stalks and all)
- 2 tbsp roasted cashew nuts (very roughly chopped)
- 1 tbsp deep fried shallots
Method
1.
Heat the oil on medium heat in
a large saucepan.
2.
Stir-fry the curry paste until
fragrant, this should take 2-3 minutes.
3.
Add the cubed chicken and
stir-fry till cooked through. Remove the chicken pieces and set aside.
4.
Add the washed and drained rice
to the same pot. Scrap the bottom to make sure all the browned bits are removed
from the pan.
5.
Add the coconut milk, water,
kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass stalk, then bring to a boil. The minute the
liquid starts to boil, cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and reduce the
heat to as low as you can get it.
6.
Leave the rice to cook. This
could take up to half an hour, but start checking after 15 minutes.
7.
Once the rice is cooked, remove
from the heat and add all the chopped coriander in one go. Fluff up the rice
with a fork, mixing in the coriander in the process.
8.
Gently combine the rice, cooked
chicken and cooked peas so everything is evenly distributed.
9.
Divide into two bowls and
garnish with roasted cashew nuts and fried shallots.
1. Enjoy.
