Thai Green Curry with Chicken or Prawns

Oooh I love a good Thai! It's my preference over a Chinese meal any day. Thai food has a wonderful fragrant aroma and the combination of sweet, sour, hot and salty is just sublime.  It's also a great one to prepare in advance and can be re-heated very successfully.

Usually a Thai green curry would be a complete no no on a diet.  A can of coconut milk alone has 18, yes 18 ProPoints!!  That's 3 and a half glasses of wine!!  I know what I would rather have!  My recipe uses the reduced fat coconut milk and just half a can for 2 people.  This makes it only a couple of ProPoints per person but the challenge is to get the full flavour whilst keeping it healthy.  Admittedly you may feel you need more chicken or prawns but if you pack out the veg each mouthful will give you a different taste and texture sensation

You'll need for 2:

• 200g chicken breast cut into chunks or 200g raw king prawns
• 1 tsp groundnut oil or any flavourless oil (not olive oil)
• 2 heaped tsp of Thai green curry paste
• Juice from 1 lime
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• A few kaffir limes, crushed
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 garlic clove, crushed or grated
• Handful fresh coriander, chopped
• A few spring onions, sliced
• Approx 90g fine green beans
• Approx 90g of mangetout or sugarsnap peas
• Half a 400g tin of reduced fat coconut milk
• 150g dried brown basmati rice

What to do:
It's pretty straight forward; heat the oil in a wok or a non-stick frying pan.  Seal the chicken pieces until golden, turning to sear on all sides.  Grate in the ginger and garlic.  Add the vegetables and stir fry for a few minutes.  Add the curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice and stir thoroughly.  Add the coconut milk and turn heat down to a simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies still have a slight crunch to them.   If you find the sauce is reducing too much, cover the pan so the moisture stays in the pan.  It shouldn't take long to cook, perhaps 10-15 minutes.  Quicker than a takeaway

Stir in the freshly chopped coriander and spring onions, just before serving with the cooked basmati rice.

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 13

Asian Steamed Cod with Stir Fried Rice

Every so often I do a trip to an Asian supermarket and stock up on authentic storecupboard ingredients such as dark and light soy sauces, fish sauce, herbs & spices, Sake, noodles and pastes.  It's much cheaper then your local supermarket and these ingredients keep really well in your cupboard. 

The last time I went, I picked up a large bamboo steamer and I really do get my moneys worth from it!  If you don't have a bamboo steamer you can use a regular steamer or you can even bake in a foil parcel creating a steam effect in the oven.

You'll need for 2:

• 2 x 130g cod loin
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp Sake
• 2-3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp lazy ginger
• 1 tsp lazy garlic
• 1 tsp groundnut oil, or oil of your choice
• Pinch of chilli flakes
• Pack of pak choi
• Half a punnet chestnut mushrooms
• 125g brown basmatti rice, cooked and cooled

What to do:

On a plate place the cod loins.  Scatter over 1 tsp ginger, lime juice, sake, 1 tbsp soy sauce, a small handful of spring onions and a sprinkling of fresh coriander.  Place in the bamboo steamer over a pan of boiling water and steam for 7-8 minutes until the fish is opaque throughout.

At the same time as getting the fish on, heat the oil in a wok and stir fry the vegetables with the garlic, 1 tsp chopped ginger and chilli until beginning to colour.  Season using 1-2 tbsp of soy sauce.  Add the rice and stir continuously until the rice is fully heated through.  Sprinkle with the rest of the chopped coriander.

Carefully lift the cooked fish out and place on top of the rice.  Pour over any remaining juices from the steamer.

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 11