I came up with the recipe when I was expecting my daughter, I am really fond of Thai food and during those days, the flavor and powerful aromatics increased the cravings even more. However, given the high usage of seafood and several exotic spice blends, I wondered if consuming Thai food in pregnancy is safe. Although Thai women have given birth to healthy babies for centuries while having their own kind of food in pregnancy, one never knows what is used in all these neighborhood Thai restaurants. So I replaced the fish sauce with few tablespoons of soy sauce and made a simple curry with coconut milk and fresh spices and vegetables without any store brought sauce.
Thai food is also healthy. The cooking style makes use of simple yet effective and healthy preparation techniques like stir-frying, stewing, steaming, grilling, and salad making. Traditionally deep-fried foods are used in limited quantities in a meal and emphasis is given to stir-frying. This ensures that nutrients and flavors of the food are not destroyed by heat. In addition, there is little or no addition of oil in most of the dishes making the food light.
Ingredients
2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs, cut into cubes
5 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Slivered ginger slices
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup peas
5 to 6 broccoli pieces
1 large tomato or 4 to 5 cherry tomato
1 (14 oz) can coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 dried jalapeno chili seeded ( removed the seed to reduce the spice level)
2 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
Mint or cilantro leaves for garnish
Directions
Grease your slow cooker with olive oil. Place the chicken and carrots, bell pepper, tomato, and broccoli on the bottom of slow cooker.
Saute the onions, ginger, and garlic in a pan until light brown and transfer in the slow cooker.
Mix peanut butter and soy sauce and pour this and coconut milk in the slow cooker and mix well, then cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.
An hour or so before serving, mix cornstarch and water together in a small bowl until cornstarch is dissolved. Pour mixture and peas into the slow cooker, stir to combine, and continue cooking for another hour.
When the sauce is to your desired thickness, turn slow cooker to warm setting until ready to serve.
Serve over rice, and garnish with cilantro or Mint leaves.
