Thai Chicken & Leek

*I didn't have enough leeks, so I changed some of the amounts -- I don't think it matters much at all.

Ingredients (from The Modern of Art of Thai Cooking)

2 leeks (about 1 pound; I used one small leek that was less than 1/2 pound)
1/2 tbsp flour
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I only used 1 tbsp)
6 cloves garlic, minced (I used 3 tbsp of the minced stuff from the jar)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used one breast...I don't know how much it weighed)
5 tbsp sugar (I used 3 tbsp)
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp whole yellow bean sauce (I don't know what that is...I used the red curry paste from the previous post)

Trim off the root ends of the leeks and all but about 3 inches of the green tops. Angle-cut the green tops into thin slices. Cut the white bulbs in half lengthwise, then angle-cut them into thin slices. Put the sliced leeks in a colander and wash them well. Drain and set aside.

Stir the flour into the chicken stock until blended.

Place all of the ingredients within easy reach of the cooking area.

Set a wok over medium-high heat. When hot, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and stir-fry briefly, just until golden and aromatic. Add the chicken, raise the heat to high, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir in the sugar, fish sauce, and leeks and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the yellow bean sauce (or red curry paste) and the chicken stock-flour mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, just until the meat and vegetables are tender and cooked through, and the sauce reduces slightly, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Transfer to platter and serve with jasmine rice. (I omitted the rice, but I bet it would have been tasty.)

2 servings, 7 weight watcher points each.


The picture is not great -- it looks gelatinous. It looked better in person and was scrumptious.

Jamie's Chicken & Leek Stroganoff

This recipe is from Jamie Oliver's cookbook, Jamie's Food Revolution, a cookbook which my mother gives 2 spoons up or 5 forks, or whatever food-related scale you prefer. Jamie also has a special rice-cooking method:

snacks and sides | serves 4 - 6
This is my basic recipe for getting perfect rice every time. Have a go at mastering it – you’ll be amazed at the light and fluffy results.

Once you’ve got the hang of that, you can have a go at flavouring it - any flavouring you boil with the rice will infuse it with wonderful fragrances and flavours. So try boiling things like fresh herbs, a cinnamon stick, a few cardamom pods, a strip of lemon zest or even a green tea bag in the water with the rice.

Doubling the amounts in the recipe will give you enough rice to serve 8-12 people.

• Put a large pan of salted water on a high heat and bring to the boil
• Rinse the rice in a colander under running water for about 1 minute, or until the water runs clear (this will stop the grains sticking together later)
• Add your rice to the boiling water and wait for the grains to start dancing around
• From that point, boil for 5 minutes
• Drain the rice in a colander
• Pour 2.5cm of water into the pan, put it back on the heat and bring it to the boil again, then turn down to a simmer
• Cover the rice in the colander with foil or a lid
• Place the colander on top of the pan of simmering water and let the rice steam over it for 8 to 10 minutes
• Remove from the heat and if you’re ready, serve immediately
• If not, leave the foil or lid on and put aside until ready to serve – it should stay warm for about 20 minutes

I have placed my picture of it down here, because it really doesn't do it justice. It looks so colorless, which I suppose it is, but that colorless indicates starches, cream, and butter. I think we can all get behind that. (Skinny people who only like skinny people food need not apply.) I stuffed myself beyond what is natural. I looked like I was pregnant with a rice & cream baby.