Vietnamese- Style Cashew & Chicken Curry
Serves 4
This curry is much lighter than most as it contains coconut water instead of coconut milk or cream. And yet it still has a nice creamy consistency due to the pureed cashew nuts in the paste.
Ingredients
Paste
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1/3 cup Alison’s Pantry Natural Cashews
1 small red chilli, chopped (plus extra, to serve)
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp tomato paste
Curry
700ml (2 cans) coconut water
2 stalks lemongrass, crushed
2-3 tbsp fish sauce, to taste
Juice of 2-3 limes, to taste
500g skinless chicken breast, cut in 3cm cubes
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on an angle
1 cup Alison’s Pantry Natural Cashews
1 bunch spring onions, cut in 3cm lengths
Sprigs of coriander leaves, to garnish
3 tbsp Alison’s Pantry Sesame Seeds, toasted, to garnish
Method
- Combine the ginger, garlic, onion, cashews, chilli, turmeric and tomato paste in a food processor and process to form a smooth, thick paste.
- In a large saucepan, combine the coconut water, lemongrass and the paste from step 1; bring to the boil. Add fish sauce and lime juice, to taste – the finished sauce should have a balanced hot, sour, salty flavour.
- Add the chicken, carrots and cashews, turn down the heat and simmer very gently for 10 minutes. Add the spring onions and simmer for 2 more minutes.
- Serve the curry in deep bowls, scattered with coriander and sesame seeds. Add extra to chilli, to taste, if desired.
Tip: Adding whole cashews to this curry, along with the chicken, provides a double source of protein. For a vegetarian version, omit the chicken and double the amount of cashews and replace the fish sauce with light soy sauce.
Download the full recipe and colouring series week one here
This recipe was created by Julie Le Clerc for Alison’s Pantry.