Low-Carb Panang Curry

This week was crazy-busy.  I had either work or social functions every night. By the time Friday night rolled around, I wanted nothing more than to hide from the world.  A mindless escape book and a night on the couch was what I needed.  I ran my first 5k of the season yesterday.  Wow was I unprepared for that. I really need to train a bit more than I have been.  After another week where the only exercise I got was volleyball and a Saturday run, its become clear that I need to put forth a bit more effort.  (And for those playing along at home, end of week 3 and I'm down 9.4 lbs - so another about 2 lbs this week).

So, recommitting to fitness this week means (1) I have a few extra calories to burn on exercise days and (2) I have less time to prep meals in the evenings.  So as always, my favorite Sunday thing is to make something new for dinners during the week - so slightly higher calories and "easy" are called for.

I think next time, I'll just serve over the broccoli, rather 

than try to mix it in.  It made for a thick and messy looking

curry.  But oh! it tastes YUM.

This week's inspiration came from one of my coworkers, who brought in Thai for lunch on Friday from my local favorite, Lulu's Thai Noodle Shop, and it kicked in a craving for me.  Lulu's used to have the best Panang curry as an appetizer with a couple of chicken satay skewers, but it's not on the menu anymore.  I can still get it at Thai Place - which is phenomenal, but you have to order a full order, which comes with a lot of rice.  So, this weekend's project is to make some Panang curry, low-carb style.  Traditional Panang (also Phanaeng or penang) is fairly mild for a thai curry, and has bell pepper, coconut milk, a touch of lime and a touch of peanut.  I happen to have some panang curry paste - thanks to a pretty big Asian market down in the Rivermarket.  The ingredients themselves are pretty low carb, the only issue is the rice.  So, instead of serving on rice, I'm going to just make it really hearty by loading up broccoli and cauliflower into the sauce.

Ingredients:

Forgot the lime in the photo

• 1.5 lbs chicken breast strips
• 112 g green bell pepper (about 1 whole, sliced into strips)
• 112 g red bell pepper (about 1 whole, sliced into strips)
• 68 g white onion (about 1/2 of a very small onion, diced)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp Mae Ploy panang curry paste
• 3 tbsp Peter Pan creamy peanut butter
• 1 7/10 cup Taste of Thai Unsweetened Coconut Milk (1 can)
• 12 oz Dole Broccoli & Cauliflower, raw
• 1 tsp lime zest (zest of one small lime)

Directions:

Serves 3 very hearty (about 14 oz) servings, at 677 calories per serving, 53 g of protein, and 9 net carbs. See full nutrition at bottom of recipe.  You could stretch this to 4 servings for a bit lighter of a meal, which gets you to 508 calories, 7 g net carbs, and about a 10.5 oz serving.

1. Cut the chicken strips into bite sized chunks, and sauté until browned in 1 tbsp olive oil on medium-high heat.  You may have to pour off a little liquid once it turns white to get it to brown, rather than just simmer/poach.
   
2. While the chicken is cooking, steam the broccoli and cauliflower (I did the steam bag in the microwave for 4 minutes).
3. When the chicken is browned, remove the chicken bits to a (clean) bowl and pour off any excess water
4. Add 1/2 tbsp more olive oil to the skillet and sauté the bell peppers and onion until just soft, with just the littlest bit of browning.  Start off on medium-high heat, and then reduce to medium.  Remove those from the pan (add to bowl of chicken).
   
5. Add 1/2 tbsp more olive oil to the pan, and add the curry paste to the skillet (pan should now be on medium heat), and stir a few minutes to kind've "toast" the paste, then add the peanut butter and stir til that mixes up.
6. Add the can of coconut milk to the skillet and stir til the pastes dissolve into the coconut milk. This is kind've like breaking up lumps in a gravy, although the fats in both the milk and the paste make it break up pretty easily.
   
7. Add all of the veggies and chicken back to the pan, stir so everything is coated, cover and reduce heat to its lowest setting for about 10 minutes (just long enough for the flavors to marry). 
   
8. Zest your lime over the top and serve!