Thai Chicken with String Beans

In our last posting I wrote that my wife Judy and I enjoy cooking dishes that remind us of the places we have traveled.  We also enjoy preparing dishes from places we haven't visited...yet.

Judy came across our featured recipe, Thai Chicken with String Beans, the other day and couldn't wait to try it out.  I thought she might be trying to plant the seeds of an idea for a future trip.  After eating the finished product, I was ready to pack up and go.  To Thailand that is.

I'm sure that I have never before tried many of the ingredients from the recipe as my knowledge of Thai food has been rather limited.  Until Judy and I embarked on this food journey last January, my level of cooking was as a Bar-B-Que guy.  Don't get me wrong, I love to Bar-B-Que, and I'm told that I'm pretty good.  But you wouldn't have found Thai food on my grill.

Don't be frightened by the list of unusual ingredients in our recipe. Judy has assured me that everything on the list can be found at your local Super Market, many items in the ethnic aisle.

When we sat down to eat, after taking our first bite, we just looked at each other and smiled. That smile didn't fade throughout the meal.  This is a real winner.  We hope you will try it and enjoy it as much as we did.

Thai Chicken with String Beans

Ingredients

3 cups uncooked string beans, washed well and drained, cut into bite sized pieces
1 spray cooking spray
2 tsp jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced.  Or 1 medium Thai Chile seeded and minced*
1 medium garlic clove, peeled and smashed
1 cup light coconut milk, divided
2 Tbsp green curry paste
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp fish sauce, (nam pla)

Note: Green curry paste and nam pla (fish sauce) are available in the ethnic sections. Fresh lemon grass may be difficult to find, chopped lemon grass in a jar can be a good substitute and should be found in the ethnic section.  Judy found the fresh lemon grass in the produce aisle.

1 Tbsp lemon grass, minced
1 pound uncooked, boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
2 Tbsp basil, fresh, minced
2 cups cooked brown rice, or cooked jasmine rice, kept hot


Instructions

Steam green beans in a steamer basket on stove, or in a microwave, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain Well; set aside

Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and set over medium heat.  Add jalapeno or chile and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, about 1 minute.  Add 3/4 cup of coconut milk, curry paste, brown sugar, fish sauce and lemon grass.  Bring to a simmer.

Add chicken and reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Add string beans and basil (mixture may separate). Add remaining 1/4 cup coconut milk (sauce will become smooth again).

Simmer until hot, about 1 minute more. Remove garlic clove and serve over rice.

Yields about 1 cup of chicken-string bean mixture and 1/2 cup of rice
 per serving.

*Do not touch pepper seeds with bare hands.  That's another story!!  Don't get me started!

This dish is hot, but not as fiery as some green curry dishes.  To increase the heat, add an additional tablespoon of green curry paste and/or crushed red pepper flakes to taste.

If you are on the fence about trying something really different, and/or Thai food is new to you, this dish is a great introduction, and it's delicious.  Enjoy.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value per serving is 8, including rice. Makes 4 servings. Level of difficulty is Easy. Prep time is 15 minutes. Cooking time is 25 minutes.

Weight Watchers is a trademark of Weight Watchers Intl. Inc. www.weightwatchers.com

Photo by Barry Baruh

Shrimp Creole - the Big Easy

the Like many people, Judy and I love to travel.  It doesn't matter whether we're traveling around the Unites States or Internationally. We just like visiting other places, seeing relatives or meeting new people, taking photographs, sight seeing, shopping, and of course eating.

We enjoy having local dishes from the places we visit.  Dishes that are indigenous to the places we happen to be.  Then, later, when we return home we can prepare some of those dishes, and the tastes will bring back good memories of delicious dining.  Or, we can just pretend that we're there again.

A few years ago I took Judy, for one of those major birthdays, to New Orleans.  We traveled with several of our friends and had a wonderful time.  Who wouldn't have a great time in the Big Easy?  We were there for a long weekend and ate everything!

For those of you who are new to the blog, my wife Judy and I alternate weeks preparing dinner. Recently, during one of my cooking weeks, I felt like a quick visit back  to New Orleans. I searched the web for a recipe that would remind us of that great weekend and still  fit into our new food lifestyle.  (Judy and I don't diet, we simply changed our food lifestyle.  Instead of eating our 4 - 5 time a week, we stay home and cook more.)  We prepare food from recipes that, for the most part, offer lower fat, lower calories and a higher fiber content.  Our "low point" recipes follow the Weight Watchers philosophy.

I found a recipe for Shrimp Creole that was just what I needed.  The flavors explode in your mouth and it's so simple to prepare.

We hope you will try this recipe, and enjoy the Big Easy.

Shrimp Creole -the Big Easy

Ingredients

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 medium stalk of Celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 medium green pepper, chopped
14 & 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes, drained
2 Tbsp canned tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine
1 cup fat-free chicken broth
1 pc. bay leaf
1/8 tsp paprika, smoked, hot Spanish variety
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste (not too much more, won't need it)
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbsp scallions, minced
1 Tbsp parsley, Italian, fresh minced
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups cooked brown rice.  We like Trader Joe's frozen style. 3 minutes to prepare and each serving is just 3 points

This may seem like a big shopping list, but you probably have most of the items in your pantry or fridge already.

Instructions 

Heat oil in a large skillet; stir in flour and cook over low heat stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes.

Stir in celery, onion, garlic and green pepper; saute 5 minutes.

Add canned tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, broth, bay leaf, paprika, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low.

Stir in shrimp and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in scallions, parsley and lemon juice; simmer for 1 minute.

Remove bay leaf.

To serve, spoon 1/2 cup of rice into each of 4 bowls and top each with about 2 cups of Shrimp Creole.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value including rice is 8, Makes 4 servings, Level of difficulty is easy. Prep time is 25 minutes. Cooking time is 20 minutes.

Weight Watchers is a trademark of Weight Watchers Intl. Inc.   www.weightwatchers.com

We also want to feature recipes from places we have not yet been, but certainly hope to go.

Out next blog will be a Thai Chicken dish that Judy prepared.