Easy, Delicious Thai Curry

Lately, Thai curry has been a huge family favorite. I make some version pretty much every week (and the kids would like it more than once a week...). Sound fancy and complicated? Well, it's actually super easy and takes about a 1/2 hour. Here's the only stuff you might need to go out and buy (and you just need something similar - exact brands don't matter a bit). Everything else, you've probably got around your house.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of uncooked white rice (whatever kind you've got)
• 2 tsp canola oil or olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic (I buy the pre-minced bottled stuff but you can use fresh or substitute 1/2 tsp of granulated garlic if you like)
• 1-3 tsp curry paste (Start with 1 tsp if you're worried it might be too spicy and haven't tried a particular brand before and add more if you want more of a kick.There's red, green and yellow curry paste. They're all good, all a bit different. You can get curry paste at many grocery stores -Thai Kitchen is a common brand in the Asian section of most grocery stores- but every Asian grocery store has several varieties - generally all good.)
• 1 14-oz can coconut milk (lite or regular, any brand)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (from can or make with bouillon)
• Vegetables (chopped carrots, frozen peas, chopped bell peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, chopped cabbage or bok choi, sweet potatoes chopped very small, regular potatoes chopped very small, whatever veggies you've got on hand work great - nice with at least 2-3 kinds of veggies. The version in the photo above has sliced baby carrots, peas, green peppers, and chopped cabbage in it. My family's favorite version has sweet potatoes, peas, cabbage and red peppers. The more veggies the better! )
• Chicken or shrimp (1-2 cups of frozen pre-cooked tail-off shrimp or 1-2 chicken breasts sliced in small bits works great. I usually use a can of cubed chicken breasts and crumble the chunks in at the end - so very quick and easy and tastes great)
• Fresh basil or cilantro (chopped) if you happen to have some on hand (find without)

Directions:

• Bring rice and 4 cups of water plus 2 tsp salt to a boil in a sauce pan, then partially cover and turn down to simmer for 20-25 minutes while you do the rest.
• Saute a chopped onion and minced garlic in oil until slightly browned
• Stir in curry paste
• Add hard veggies (carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes) and chicken (if you're using raw chicken). Saute until veggies get a bit soft and chicken isn't pink anymore
• Add a can of coconut milk and bring to a boil
• Turn down to simmer and add quick veggies (frozen peas, cabbage, pre-cooked veggies if you've got some) plus chicken broth. Keep simmering until it's slightly thickened (5-10 minutes)
• Stir in about a tsp of salt (start with 1/2 tsp and see if it needs more) 
• Cook until veggies are pretty soft
• Serve over rice (garnish with some fresh ground pepper and a little fresh basil or cilantro if you've got some)

Serves 4. (I usually double this for my family and it's GONE!)