Speedy Thai Red Curry - The guilt free way!

Monday's aren't many people's favourite days of the week, especially when it's a dull, damp evening and the time of the year that summer is looking well and truely departed. With the nights starting to draw in, it's natural to find it hard to resist the tempation to reach for stodgy, calorie laden comfort food.
Therefore, I've learnt to come up with some meals that are not only significantly lighter on the calorie intake but are super speedy and offer that warm, guilt-free comfort that goes hand-in-hand with the onset of Autumn.  

I have no qualms about using ready-made ingredients when time is of the essence. To be frank, the quality of the red curry paste product is so good that I couldn't rival by making a 'homemade' version. I simply check that the calories fit in with my requirements and then it's all systems go! 

Thai Red Curry with Fragrant Jasmine Rice 
Serves 2

This dish can easily be tailored to your own requirements. I like to use a variety of vegetables as per ingredients list below but you can add/omit according to your own taste. I'm a chilli freak so I add 6 or 7 whole birdeye green chillies to this recipe but you can cut down or even omit these as you wish. You could also make a chicken version by stir frying some chicken just before the initial stage of cooking the paste off. 

You may notice I am not using any oil in this recipe which may come as a suprise for Thai cuisine. I have a good non-stick wok and I don't intend wasting precious calories on oil when a few spoons of the coconut milk will do the job!

3 tbsp x Red Curry Paste (This consists of red curry paste, coconut milk and herbs but of course you could buy this seperately if the kit isn't available)
1 tin (400ml) x Reduced fat coconut milk 
2 large handfuls worth of a mix of vegetables such as butternut squash, tenderstem broccoli, aubergine (cubed), baby corn, green beans/mange tout, mushrooms, pak choi. 
Birdseye green chillies
1 small handful of Thai basil (fresh is best but you could use corriander or dried thai basil)
1 chicken breast - I used a pre-cooked one from the day before which made this even quicker!

1 x Pack of microwave thai jasmine rice (I used Sainsbury's own brand but there's lot of alternative brands)

1) Start your wok on a high heat, it needs to be really hot so that the flavours of the paste are released.
2) Once the wok is at a good temperature put the paste and a couple of tablespoons of the coconut milk into the wok and cook for around 2-3 minutes. This allows the natural oils and flavours of the paste to release.
Add the rest of the coconut milk and turn the heat down so that the sauce is now at a gentle simmer.
3) If using butternut squash add that into the wok now and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the squash is tender.
4) Add the other vegetables in now. Remember that the softer veg will take slightly less time to cook through.  
5) Cook until the vegetables are to your desired texture. I prefer mine to still be 'al dente' or ' to have a bit of bite'. Cook rice as per packet instructions.
6) Serve the curry on the rice and scatter with freshly chopped thai basil or corriander.