A simple curry made with chicken of the woods mushrooms, coconut milk, aromatics and Thai red curry paste. You can easily double the recipe. If you don’t reduce it until it’s thickened, it makes a great soup. Toasted cashews make a great additional garnish if you have some. Serves 2 as an entrée or 4 as an appetizer
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Total Time40 minutesmins
Course: Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Thai
Keyword: Chicken of the woods mushrooms, Red curry
¼inchslice of fresh galangaloptional but recommended
2fresh or frozen kaffir lime leavesoptional but recommended
1large clove garlic
1.5Tablespoonscanned red curry pasteadd this to taste, some may want more
Dash of fish sauceoptional
1-2teaspoonsmaple syrup or sugaroptional
A small handful of Thai basilcilantro, or culantro to finish, to taste, optional
Finishing and Serving
1-2teaspoonsfresh lime juiceto finish
Cooked ricesee note
Freshly cooked vegetables
Instructions
Curry
Cut the chicken of the woods mushrooms into bite-sized pieces, then sweat in a sauce pot (2-3 quart capacity) until wilted. If the pan threatens to get dry, add a splash of water or stock.
Season the mushrooms with salt, push to the side of the pan and add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes more.
Add the vegetable stock or water and cook 2 minutes more.
Crush the galangal with the back of a knife or in a mortar and pestle. Lightly crush the lime leaves in your palm to release their aroma.
Add the lemongrass, coconut milk, curry paste, maple or sugar, fish sauce, and kaffir lime leaves and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 20-30 minutes depending on how thick you like it.
Double check the seasoning and adjust until it tastes good to you. Add more curry paste before you would add salt, since curry paste from a can is usually very salty.
If the curry looks too thick, thin it with a bit of water or stock and double check the seasoning again before serving.
Serving
Right before serving, add a small handful of sliced or torn Thai basil leaves and the lime juice. Serve with rice, cooked vegetables, and a few extra torn leaves of thai basil, cilantro, or culantro.
Video
Notes
To make toasted rice
To make toasted rice, take whatever white rice you like, such as long grain, and put it into a pot with high sides you can stir. Add 1-2 teaspoons of oil per cup, turn the heat to medium high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is lightly browned and smells toasty.Doing this on the stove is imprecise and I usually have some kernels that are more brown than others, which doesn't bother me. If you want the rice perfectly toasted and even-colored, spread it out on a cookie sheet and bake it at 350 until very light brown.