Crouton’s Green Curry w/Chicken & Lime

• 1 cup rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 tbsp peanut oil
• 2 boneless chicken breast filets
• 4 small potatoes
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 tbsp green curry paste
• 1 small hot chili pepper
• 1 lime
• small red & yellow salad peppers
• bamboo shoots
• water chestnuts, sliced
• straw mushrooms
• fresh basil

Directions

Bring water to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, add the rice, cover and let cook for 20-25 minutes.

Cut the chicken and potatoes into bite-size pieces, stir fry in peanut oil until about half cooked, transfer to plate.

Pour coconut milk into pan, heat on medium and let reduce a bit.  Whisk in the curry paste.  Use a grater to zest the lime and add lime zest to curry mix.  Add the chili pepper, thinly sliced (I recommend starting with about half a pepper — you can always add more chili pepper later if it’s not hot enough for you).  Add chicken and potatoes to curry mix, cover, and let cook about 5 minutes.

Add 4 thin slices of the lime you zested earlier, along with sliced salad peppers.  Cook another 2-3 minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients (I used about half a can each of bamboo shoots, sliced water chestnuts, and straw mushrooms).  Add 3-4 chopped basil leaves.  These last ingredients really don’t need to cook at all.  If you’ve timed it right, the curry will be ready when the rice is.

Serve over rice.