Cheat’s Thai Curry – £1.21 per serve

At the pub last night, we were talking about food, and I mentioned I couldn’t possibly tell my readers what I actually ate for dinner, lest they pass judgement and exile me from authorship. My mates told me shut up and be honest so here I am:

For dinner last night I ate a half a tub of hummus with vegetable crudites, followed by a spot of peanut butter mining using a dry pitta bread as a pick. Top-notch haute-cuisine. But I’m back at the actual cooking today and am eating a wonderfully comforting thai-style coconut soup, which took about 20 minutes to make from fridge to bowl.

It barely even counts as a recipe, but there was some cooking involved. You can customise this as you wish; taking out the chicken actually makes it 100% vegan, and you can load it with even more veg if you so please.

You is gon need:

• Two chicken thighs, deboned and deskinned  – £0.70 (optional but delicious)
• A tin of coconut milk – £1
• Half a jar of green thai curry paste – £0.70
• Bag of sugarsnap peas/mangetout £0.60
• half a big bag of spinach £0.50
• 2 large carrots £0.15
• any other veg you fancy, cut into thin strips. I was gonna put green pepper in this but forgot. Alas.
• chopped coriander (optional)
• handful of cashews (optional)

Chop your chicken thighs into bitesize chunks and brown them in a medium depth pot in a little sunflower oil. Remove them once they’re looking sexy and golden on the outside (they don’t have to be cooked all the way through as they’re going back in later to finish off) and put them on a plate or sommat out the way. Keep the pan hot.

Slice the carrots in half lengthways and then in half lengthways again, and again if your knife-skills are up to it.  You’re aiming for thin carrot strips, like what you get in a bag of *expensive* pre-cut stirfry mixes. Do any other veg in the same way so it all cooks evenly.

Fry off your paste in the hot pan until the oil is coming out of it – this makes it lovely and a r o m a t i c. Add your chicken back in and stir to coat everything. Then, add the coconut milk, stir to combine, then add the carrots. Simmer this for about 3-4 minutes until the carrots have lost their rawness but aren’t quite cooked, and then add the sugarsnaps and spinach. By the time the spinach has wilted in, it’ll be done. Taste it; it should be salty enough from the paste, but add some more seasonings to your liking. Sprinkle over chopped coriander and some cashews to serve. This made about 3 portions, so ima freeze the rest.