Thai Coconut Stir Fry

 The key to any stir fry is the balance between sweet, sour, and spice. This Thai Coconut Stir Fry is slightly sweet from the coconut milk with a heat that builds as you eat it. For a pop of color, I use red Fresno peppers but if you like your Thai food extra spicy, use the extremely spicy Thai Bird's Eye chiles.

In our house, we like to do a stir fry at the end of the week when there are some left over fresh vegetables in the crisper that we can't figure out what to do with. Only use fresh veggies, the frozen stir fry mixes usually result in a mushy end product and the excess water in them dilute your sauce.  Another great quick tip is to use ground chicken or pork because it cooks much faster than sliced or diced meat.

The secret to having full flavored stir fry is not to drown it in sauce, start with aromatics and chilies and let that become the base of your sauce. 




Thai Coconut Stir Fry
Ingredients:
1 Tbs. canola oil or grapeseed oil
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Fresno chili pepper (optional Thai bird's eye chili pepper for extra spice)
1 -2 pounds ground chicken or pork
salt and pepper, to taste
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen edamame peas
1 Tbs tamarind paste (or juice of one lime and 1 Tbs. dark brown sugar)
1 cup organic coconut milk
! Tbs. cilantro leaves, chopped
2 green onions, thinkly sliced
Jasmine rice for serving

Directions:
In a large wok over high heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Carefully add in the ginger, garlic and chilies and cook for 1-2 minutes. Generously season the ground chicken or pork with salt and pepper and add it to the wok, breaking up the meat into bite-sized pieces with a wooden spoon. Once the meat is almost cooked through, add in the vegetables, cooking for another minute or two until slightly softened.

Stir in the tamarind paste and coconut milk. (If using green vegetables such as broccoli or asparagus, add them in when adding the coconut milk so they do not over cook.) Turn the heat to medium and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the green onion and cilantro. Serve over rice.