Red Thai Curry with Chicken, Bok Choi and Jasmin Rice

• 400 g of jasmin rice
• 600 ml of water
• 400 ml of coconut cream
• 100 ml of vegetable oil
• 250 ml of coconut milk
• 6 kaffir leaves, crushed
• 2 chili peppers, sliced in strips
• 6 tablespoons of palm sugar
• 300 g of skinned chicken breast, cut in cubes
• 2 Japanese eggplants (can be ordinary ones), sliced and grilled
• 2 bok choi cabbages, sliced in the diagonal
• 4 tablespoons of nan pla (Thai fish sauce)
• 4 tablespoons of lime juice
• 2 tablespoons of fresh coriander leaves, sliced in strips

Start with the jasmin rice. Rinse the rice to remove all the starch. Drain and put into a pot of water, cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 11 minutes without uncovering. Turn off the heat and set until serving.

To make the curry paste, bake the peppercorns, cumin, coriander, anise and cinnamon on a baking sheet until browned. This will release the aromas of these spices. When ready, grind in a coffee grinder. Put all the ingredients in a blender with a little water and mix until you have a paste.

Boil the creamed coconut and the oil in a pot over high heat until the oil and the solid matter in the creamed coconut begin to separate. Add the curry paste, prepared as indicated above and the crushed kaffir leaves. Cook another 20 minutes, stirring constantly. Add palm sugar and continue to cook until the mixture is caramelized. Add fish sauce and coconut milk and bring to a boil.

When the curry begins to thicken, add cubed chicken, eggplant, bok choi and chili peppers, stir well and cook about 5 minutes. Lastly, add lime juice and coriander.
Serve with jasmin rice.