Thai green chicken curry

We were heading out of town for the weekend, so I wanted to make something using up my leftover chicken from our Chicken Fajitas the other night, and I wanted to make use of the rest of the broccoli and snap peas. That meant a Thai curry was definately in order. Thai food is spicy and the spices are similar to those used in my fajitas, so I figured the chicken would be just perfect. What would make this Thai-like would be the coconut milk and lime juice. I usually go with the curry paste, but I was all out. However, I have a jar of green curry powder and one of red curry powder for Thai cooking, so that would do for tonight. Next, I wanted ramen noodles, something I buy by the case for the kid and his friends. I had two packages left, so perfect. One was beef, and the other was chili flavored. I opted to cook both packages but just used the chili flavoring in the water. I was draining it off anyway, so I figured it would all work one way or the other.

I put a pot of water on to boil for the noodles and set about gathering some vegies: broccoli, cut into florets; snap peas, ends cut off; leftover sauteed green peppers and onions; and mushrooms, sliced. I put them all into the boiling water for 5 minutes, then lifted them out with a spider strainer. Then I put the noodles in and let them cook for 10 minutes while I made the curry sauce.

To make a good curry sauce, I prefer to start with a tablespoon of curry paste and a teaspoon of oil and simmer that together, then add the thick coconut cream and let it sizzle, then add the rest of the coconut milk. Since I was using powder today, I just poured the entire can of coconut milk into a pan and added a tablespoon of lime juice, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, a tablespoon of brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon of the green curry powder and let that come to a simmer. Then I added the leftover chicken and vegetables and turned off the heat. Next I drained the noodles and divided them between two pasta bowls. The curry sauce topped the noodles and I garnished it with a sprig of cilantro. 

It was a new meal using leftovers and a few vegies and it really hit the spot!