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Donal Skehan
Thai Sweet Potato Stew with Lemongrass & Ginger Brown Rice | DonalSkehan.com, A Thai Stew offering ultimate warmth and flavour for the colder months.
  • main-meals

Thai Sweet Potato Stew with Lemongrass & Ginger Brown Rice

January 11

This stew is also delicious with chicken thighs but sweet potato provides substance and flavour in it’s place.  The flavours capture that essential flavour profile of Thai food, the contrast between the saltiness of fish sauce, acidity of lime and sweetness from sugar.

  • serves Serves 4
  • time 60 mins

Method

  1. 1. Place a large casserole pot over a medium high heat and add the oil.
  2. 2. Fry the curry paste, coriander stalks, garlic, ginger and chilli for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and aromatic. Add in the sweet potatoes and stir through to coat.
  3. 3. Pour in the vegetable stock, add the lemongrass and bring to a steady simmer- cook for 12 minutes.
  4. 4. Reduce the heat to low and stir through the sugar snap peas, coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce and lime juice and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
  5. 5. For the brown rice, add the rice and 500ml of cold water to a pot and stir through the lemongrass, ginger and sea salt. Place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the rice is tender and the water has evaporated. Remove the lemongrass and ginger and fluff up the rice with a fork. Cover with a lid and set aside.
  6. 6. Serve the stew with the rice and garnish with coriander and Thai basil.

Ingredients

For the stew:

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 heaped tsp panang curry paste

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 large thumbsized piece of ginger, finely minced

1 red chill, finely sliced

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bitesize cubes

800ml vegetable stock

2 stalks lemongrass, roughly bashed

1 x 400g tin coconut milk

1 tbsp dark brown sugar

2-3 tbsp fish sauce

Juice of 1 lime

150g sugar snap peas

A large handful of coriander, stalks, finely chopped, leaves reserved to garnish

Thai basil, to garnish

For the brown rice:

1 large thumbsized piece ginger

1 stick lemongrass, roughly bashed

275g brown basmati rice

Sea salt

You'll Need

Large casserole pot

Medium saucepan

 

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In small handblender blitz the ginger, lime leaves, garlic, red chilli and lemon grass until finely chopped.

 

Heat a frying pan over a high heat and add a little sunflower oil.

 

Season the chicken pieces and brown off in the pan until you have a nice golden colour on either side.

 

Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and place on plate with some kitchen paper.

 

Pour the remaining oil and scrape any crispy bits into a medium sized high sided pot and place over a medium high heat.

 

Add in the blitzed ingredients and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until the they release lots of great fragrant smells!

 

Add the chicken back in along with the coconut milk and fish sauce.

 

Cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced a little and the chicken is thoroughly cooked through.

 

While the chicken is bubbling away, get the rice on.  Rice can get people a little panicked but the easiest way to think about it is that it is 1 part rice to 2 parts cold water.  What I do is measure the rice in a glass and then use the glass to pour in the water, that way it’s easy to see the volume you need to add.

 

Add the rice and water to a pot, cover with a lid and simmer over a medium heat for about 15 minutes or according to the instructions on the packet.

 

Serve the chicken over the rice and give a generous sprinkle of spring onions and coriander.

 

Devour the dinner! 🙂
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