Thai-style vegetable curry in coconut milk

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 piece(s) of ginger root, approx. 5 x 3 cm
• 1 tbsp yellow curry paste
• 1 tsp, leveled chili powder
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (coconut butter)
• 800 ml coconut milk
• 3 large red bell peppers, cut into strips
• 1 pack of sugar snap peas
• 1 jar bamboo shoot(s)
• 2 handfuls of fresh basil (Thai) or coriander leaves
• 400 g rice
• 600 g scampi, or turkey or chicken meat
• 1 tbsp salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

A tip in advance: If all the ingredients are already chopped, washed, or arranged in an easily accessible location, the dish will cook pretty quickly. Experienced choppers can also put the rice on while the main course is cooking. You can actually set the stove to 2.5 (electric) the whole time. Finely slice the garlic cloves and dice the ginger. Place a wok (any large pan or pot will do) on the stove, melt the coconut butter, and add the oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 2 minutes. Then add the scampi (or meat—the two are also delicious together) and sauté. They don’t need to be cooked all the way through; they’ll continue to cook in the sauce. The meat should be just cooked through. Now mix in the curry paste and the ground chili. If you like it really spicy, you can also add 2 tablespoons of chopped jalapeños. Add the bell pepper and sauté briefly, then the bamboo shoots, and finally the snow peas. The vegetables should remain as crisp as possible, so don’t overcook them. Now add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. To thicken the sauce, you can add cornstarch (check the package for the liquid-to-starch ratio). Season to taste with chili and salt. Just before serving, add the Thai basil or coriander. Set a few leaves aside for garnish. The coconut milk takes the edge off a lot of the spiciness, so don’t be surprised if you can add more seasoning when tasting. Serve with rice. You can, of course, vary the vegetables as you like, and I think it would be delicious with beef too.