Take Out, Made at Home

So...I love take out. Who doesn't love the ease of either delivery or stopping by to pick up a meal that you don't have to slave over and then deal with the clean up? But, being both money conscience and focusing on home cooking, I have learned to create replicas of our favorite take out dishes. One of my favorites is Thai food. I love the complexity of their ingredients and you wouldn't believe just how simple it is to prepare. In just a few steps, I am going to show you how fast you can make your own Thai curry.

Ingredients:

2-3 large crowns of broccoli cut into florets
Other veg you'd like to add (chopped)
1 can of coconut milk
1 tbsp of Thai red curry paste (can adjust depending on your taste for heat)
Juice of half of lime
Lime zest
1 cup of Basmati rice (cooked according to provided instructions)
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes (optional)
Lemongrass paste
Chopped peanuts (optional)

Trim up your broccoli. Or Cauliflower...or squash...pretty much anything you want in your curry.

Prepare your rice according to the instructions on the package. What I like to do to spice things up is add lime zest to the rice while cooking. I've really come to enjoy the Lundberg brown rices. They just have a nuttier, bolder taste than regular rices.

Steam the broccoli in a large covered saute pan for about 2 minutes. Remove the lid and add in your coconut milk, red curry paste and lemongrass (I just use about a couple of good squeezes of the tube). Stir and let simmer for 4 mins. Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and a little lime juice. If you need more heat, toss in some red pepper flakes.

At this point, the curry is almost done. And then I have one of those moments where I say to myself, what else to I want to add? So, I throw in some red bell peppers and frozen petite peas. You can never have too many veggies!

I cook this for an additional 2 minutes just to thaw the peas and soften the peppers. Then I chop the peanuts and sprinkle them on top. Serve on top of the cooked rice and enjoy!

I made this dish at 10:30 in the morning to have for dinner that night. The smell of the curry was so intoxicating, I couldn't wait and just had to have this little bowl after I took this shot. It was fabulous. And just like really good take out, it's even better the next day!