A TASTE OF THAI

Not to be confused with Tasty Thai, one of our favorite Orlando restaurants. This is a little coconut milk, peanut, basil, adorning some pretty straightforward veggies and rice. Jasmine rice cooked in a combination of homemade vegetable stock and coconut milk and some stir fried green beans, red pepper, sweet onion, garlic and jalepeño pepper finished with a little Thai slurry and a topping of peanuts and fresh basil. Easy, fast and very tasty.

Using familiar vegetables in unusual ways is a great way to perk up dinner time while getting in the daily requirements. This meal could easily add, sautéed shrimp, chicken or pork for the carnivores out there. Sauté the meat first, remove to a plate while you sauté or stir fry the vegetables starting with the hardest ones, onions, peppers, garlic and then the green beans or broccoli florets.

One cup of Jasmine rice, rinsed off and cooked in 1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth (use chicken if you like) and 1 cup of coconut milk with a teaspoon of kosher salt. Bring the liquid to a boil, add salt and rice. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes until all liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes before stirring. Finish with 2 TBS fresh lime juice and 1 TBS unsalted butter. Fluff with a fork to serve.

Sauté veggies in a 2 TBS olive oil, add in cooked chicken, pork or shrimp if using, stir fry until veggies are crisp tender 2 - 5 minutes. Meanwhile mix up slurry: combine 3/4 cup coconut milk; 1/4 cup veggie or chicken broth; 1 TBS fish sauce; 1 TBS fresh lime juice; 1 TBS soy sauce or tamari; 2 tsp brown sugar; 2 tsp cornstarch, salt and pepper to taste. Stir slurry into sauté pan and continue to sauté/stir fry for another 2 - 3 minutes. Stir in one cup sliced (chiffonade) basil and 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped. Serve over coconut rice.

This is a simple way to tweak a plain old meal of green beans and chicken. For those of us avoiding a lot of flesh, the combination of red peppers, onions, garlic and greens beans makes a delightful dish smothering the coconut rice. Try it; you'll like it.

Till next time . . . keep on cooking!