Make it today

 

Thai Red Curry 

Many of us love a Thai red curry. The problem is that all that coconut cream represents high-saturation fats, which are no good if you’re trying to lose weight. 

So the coconut needs to be eliminated. I always struggled to come up with a low-fat version that’s really good – until now. I think I’ve cracked it. 

On all my trips to Thailand I’ve tried to recreate my very first impression of red curry. It was after a long flight from London and I was sitting outside with a cold beer at Silom Village. It was hot, but the feeling was one of excitement. This is where so many tourists see Thai food for the first time. So the red curry was ordered and it was spicy, aromatic and fantastic. 

For 20 years I tried many other versions, but I always felt they compromised the authentic dish. With this recipe, though, I use chicken or shrimp for the protein, removing the chicken skin where all the fat is. 

Feel free to add vegetables. Curries work well with eggplant, which stays in shape over longer cooking time, as do peas and green beans.

 

Serves 4

 

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, no skin

1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste

4 dried kaffir lime leaves

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1/4 pint non-fat condensed milk from a can

Handful fresh coriander leaves

 

In a large pan, sear the chicken in oil over a high heat for three to four minutes per side. Lower heat and continue to cook and turn for eight more minutes, until cooked through.

Add the curry paste, fish sauce and milk, mix well, add the lime leaves and simmer on very low heat for three to four minutes.

Serve with coriander leaves.

 

Orange and Coriander Salad

This is so simple that you won’t believe how tasty and it is, and the presentation is wonderful but it only takes a few minutes. 

I strongly believe you shouldn’t take vitamin supplements if you can get the vitamins in your food. I haven’t had a cold or flu in five years. I eat a lot of fruit and I feel this is a benefit.

This dish is a salad of oranges, which carry all the Vitamin C you need, and pomegranate seeds with vitamins C and K. They also help fight disease since they’re rich in phyto-chemicals. There’s olive oil for its good saturated fat, and coriander, which has vitamins A, B, C and K. 

Make this fresh and fantastic-tasting dish today as a side salad or lunch, and feel free to add cooked shrimp. When you see how easy it is to make, you’ll be inspired to come up with your version. This is the beauty of cooking: It’s like no two people’s handwriting being exactly the same. With all the brilliant fruit available in Thailand, why not try this with mango, papaya or whatever?

 

Ingredients

4 large oranges

Handful fresh coriander leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup pomegranate seeds

 

Peel the oranges, slice into half inches and place in a large mixing bowl.

Roughly chop the coriander and add it. Drizzle the bowl with olive oil, lemon juice and pomegranate seeds. 

Toss well and serve.

 

British celebrity chef Daniel Green loves to create healthy recipes that are easy to follow. His column “Make It Today” – sharing his passion for good food that’s low in fat but modern and full of flavour – will appear on the last Sunday of every month.