Chiang Mai Soup w/ Coconut Rice

This is two recipes combined, and the coconut rice is more than good enough as a small meal on its own. In fact, I was pretty full from nibbling on the rice by the time I actually got the rest of it cooked. I got both of these out of my Rice & Noodle Cookbook.

Coconut Rice
2 1/4 cups Jasmine rice
2 cups Coconut milk
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
(Calls for shredded coconut for garnish, but I left that out.)

Wash the rice in several changes of water until it runs clear. (The directions on the rice didn't call for this, but I did it anyway. It took 5-6 changes of water for it to run clear.) Put everything in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan. (I used my pretty new dutch oven!) Cover & bring to boil. Lower heat & simmer for 15-20 minutes. Take off heat & let rest for 5-10 minutes, then fluff the rice.


Chiang Mai Soup
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 tbsp red curry paste (I used this before, but I didn't have any this time -- still tasted fine)
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 lb chicken thighs, boned & cut into bite-sized pieces (I used 2 frozen chicken breasts, thawed)
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
4 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce (I don't know the difference b/w dark & light. Kikoman seems to work fine.)
juice of 1/2-1 lime (I used bottled lime juice. I just squirted some in there -- I don't think it needs to be precise. You can put more in any time if it is a little bland.)
salt & water to taste
[The recipe calls for egg noodles, but I didn't use them -- I used the rice instead]

1. Pour ~1/3 of the coconut milk into the saucepan & bring to a boil, stirring frequently until it separates. (This separation thing -- I'm not entirely sure mine ever did, but it started looking vaguely like tapioca at some point, and I decided that was good.)
2. Add the curry paste & ground turmeric, stir to mix completely and cook for a few minutes until blended.
3. Add chicken pieces & stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Ensure all chunks of meat are covered in paste. (It is not as paste-y if you don't use the curry paste.)
4. Add the remaining coconut milk, stock, fish sauce, soy sauce, & seasoning. Simmer for 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat & add lime juice to taste.

5. The direction here call for you to add the egg noodles. I just poured it over the rice & mixed it up. If you have leftovers, it will save for a long time. The rice just soaks up the soup, which is great, because you don't get that tough leftover rice thing the next day. I ate for several days in a row.

As always, particularly with Asian food, use your prep bowls! Have everything ready to go when you start. If you try it, let me know what you think!