Panang Curry with Chicken and Kabocha Squash

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breast, chopped into equal pieces
1 kabocha squash, small (about 1 lb.), skinned and diced into cubes
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T Panang curry
1 kaffir lime leaf, chiffonade (optional)
1 T fish sauce
1 T light brown sugar
1 T sesame oil
1 12-0z. can coconut cream
2-3 T canola oil
pepper and salt for taste

Boil a pot of water (add salt like you would for cooking pasta) and cook squash until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Pour into colander and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat and add chicken to brown both sides. About 1 to 2 minutes each side. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

In same skillet, add some more oil and saute garlic and onion over medium heat until onion is translucent. About 2 minutes. (Do not brown your garlic.) Add curry paste and heat for about 30 seconds to release the aroma. Then add 3/4 of the coconut cream and stir to blend the cream and curry paste. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking until you see red oil from the curry paste rise to the top. Add the rest of the cream along with sugar and fish sauce. Return the chicken and squash to the skillet and blend all the ingredients together and cook covered on low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes to heat through everything. Serve warm. Garnish with thinly sliced kaffir lime leaf or a sprig of cilantro.

Makes 3 to 4 servings. Serve with cilantro-jasmine rice.

Pair with a glass of Riesling.

TIP: I got a kabocha squash to make this dish, and it came from Mexico since it's not really kabocha squash season. You can substitute for other seasonal ingredients such as new potatoes, sweet potatoes, or summer squash. Just be sure to understand how long those ingredients will cook because you don't want to overcook them and make them soft. They should be cooked to tenderness.

THAI CURRY: Panang curry is a bit more spicy of the different Thai-style curries (mild ones include the green curry). You can find a wide selection at Asian grocery stores and I find the paste works best. Keep your container stored in your refrigerator after opening.