When I say chicken stir fry I mean chicken and vegetable. And probably mostly vegetable. Because I really do see stir fry as a chance to eat as many delicious vegetables as possible. Using curry paste as the base of a sauce for a stir fry is so fantastic as it gets rid of so much of the prep time and delivers big on flavour!

You can go ahead and buy your favourite go to Thai curry paste for this. You can get some really good ones these days. Or you can be like me and make your own and call it your ‘arm workout’ for the day. Even though I use the food processor to do most of it and would use it for all of it if it would get the coriander seeds and lemon grass fine enough. But I digress. Making your own is also excellent because you can control the quality of the products that go into it and cut back on the oil. It also tastes amazing when it’s fresh. I use Not Quite Nigella’s recipe with a few simple changes to make it more fructose friendly (replacing half the garlic with ginger and using the green part of spring onion instead of shallots).

The vegetables you put in this are up to you. Go wild, make your own choices you clever thing you. But chop them into similar sizes so you can throw them all in and they cook evenly. Zucchini cooks quickly though so if you like it firmer, slice it thicker.

Now for the interesting part. The lychees and kaffir lime. I think this stir fry is made even better with the addition of fresh lychees as the sweetness really cuts through the heat. The kaffir lime leaves add a fragrant flavour that brings out the Thai curry base. If you can’t get your hands on these then you can leave them out. Don’t substitute canned lychees though, the syrup makes them too sweet for this in my opinion.

Serves 4

Ingredients

400g chicken breast

1 Tbs coconut oil

2 Tbs Thai green curry paste

1 zucchini, finely sliced

1 red capsicum, julienned

2 cups snow peas, trimmed

2 cups green beans, trimmed

2 cups broccoli florets (1 small head approx.)

1/4 cup coconut cream or milk (can substitute with coconut water or stock too!)

4 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced

1 cup lychees, peeled, halved and pitted (only if in season don’t by canned just leave them out)

1 cup coriander leaves, to serve

1 lime, to serve

3 cups brown rice, to serve

Directions

Cut chicken piece into bite sized pieces. Make sure all your vegetables are prepared and rice is cooked if using.

Heat a large wok or frying pan on high heat. Add coconut oil. Once hot add chicken and 1 tbs curry paste. Stir fry for 3 minutes or until golden on all sides.

Add remaining curry paste, kaffir lime leaves, coconut cream and vegetables and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add lychees and stir fry for a further minute. If dry add a splash of water to the pan.

Remove from heat and serve topped with coriander with limes and rice on the side.

HH. x