Gang Kai: Thai Red Curry Soup

A soup-like dish to be served with or over Thai sticky rice. Made with coconut milk. You can substitute any kind of meat or fish. I like it with beef (gang nuur), shrimp (gang kung) and fish (gang pla). Any firm-fleshed fish works nicely. I especially like monk fish with this dish.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  cooking oil
• 1 -2  tablespoon curry paste, to taste (the more you use, the hotter the dish, can be found in Chinese or ethnic food section, look for Tast)
• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk (you can use regular or lite)
• 1⁄2 lb chicken or 1⁄2 lb shrimp or 1⁄2 lb beef or 1⁄2 lb  fish
• 2  tablespoons Thai fish sauce (also in ethnic section)
• 1  lime, juice of
• 1⁄2  lemon, juice of
•  red pepper flakes
•  basil leaves
• 5 -6  kaffir lime leaves, torn (optional)

• Vegetables See Note Below

•  bamboo shoot
•  straw mushroom
•  red bell peppers or  green bell pepper
•  potato
•  Chinese eggplant
•  Japanese eggplant (round, light green with darker stripes, range in size from a large bean up to a small orange and are)
•  green beans
•  zucchini

Directions

1. Note: Try a combination of vegetables, mix crisp, bitter flavors like green beans or bamboo with softer, warm ones, like potato or zucchini.
2. Heat oil in a large saute pan.
3. Add curry paste and stir-fry until smooth.
4. Add coconut milk and mix thoroughly.
5. Add meat and simmer until no longer pink.
6. Mix in fish sauce and lime juice and keffir leaves.
7. Add slower cooking vegetables, like potatoes, and simmer covered until soft.
8. Add basil and faster cooking veggies, like peppers and zucchinis and simmer about two minutes until tender but still firm.
9. Serve in bowls over rice.