Thai Red Curry Chicken ‘Slow-Cooker Friday’

I love Thai food and I am a little bit of a Thai food snob, I have to admit. But I guess it might come as no big surprise, after travelling in South East Asia extensively, and my brother living on an island in Thailand (I know, don’t get me started, he gets to enjoy the sun while we have cold toes here ;P ) While travelling and meandering through Thailand and other South East Asian countries, I ate with local families, and therefore ate some ‘Thai Food’ you’d never see in a restaurant, in short I acquired some first hand knowledge of real Thai cooking. So this recipe really should be called Thai Inspired Red Curry Chicken, since the slow cooker is not traditional, but the flavors are still reminiscent of warmer places, so this is my Americanized Friday evening version 😉

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 chicken legs/thigh quarters, bone in (about 1 1/2lb)
2-4 tbsp red curry paste (if you are very sensitive to spice, use less, for extra spice use more)
1/2 of a 14 oz can of coconut milk
1 cup brown Jasmine rice
1 cup broth
2 cup mixed vegetables, cut into bite size pieces (preferably fresh, I used snow peas, red bell pepper, and broccoli)
1 lime, cut into wedges for garnish

Directions

Heat a heavy frying pan over medium.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook the chicken skin side down until browned, about 4-6 minutes, turn and cook repeat on the other side (Chicken will cook more in the slow cooker, this is just to give it some extra flavor) Transfer to slow cooker
To same skillet, add the coconut milk, half the broth and the curry paste. Stir and loosen any browned bits. Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker insert.
Pour the rice around the chicken , add the remainder of the broth and cover.*
Turn slow cooker on low and cook for 5-6 hours, or until chicken is sift and starts to fall off the bone.
Half hour before you’re ready to eat, place the vegetables on top and turn up to high. Alternately you could also steam the vegetables separate and serve over the chicken and rice from the crock-pot.
Garnish with lime wedges and serve.

* The rice will be soft and flavorful from cooking in the sauce, if you prefer your rice to be less ‘risotto’ , add it about half way through the cooking time.