This curry comes from the Muslim area of Thailand, the south, near the border with Malaysia. It is a chicken curry, made with rice and coconut milk, served with a spicy ginger side sauce. Imagine Paella crossed with Thai spices and that is very close to the style of this dish.

Ingredients for 2 People
200 gms Chicken Legs
350 gms Thai Rice
1 Teaspoon Curry Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Coconut Milk
2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
400 ml Chicken Stock

Preparation
1. Clean the chicken legs and score the meat with two or three deep cuts to help it cook.
2. Put the oil into a frying pan and fry the chicken legs until the chicken is part cooked and the skin is browned.
3. Add the coconut milk, salt, curry powder and cinnamon, into the pan and mix it together for a few seconds over the heat.
4. Turn off the heat.
5. At this point you should move the chicken and sauce into a pan suitable to cook the rice in. In Thailand we use automatic rice cookers, and we simply move the chicken and sauce into the rice cooker, however a boiling pan will work equally well.
6. Add the rice, add the chicken stock, the chicken stock must completely cover the rice and submerge it by 2cm or more, if it does not, add water or more stock.
7. Cook on a low heat until the rice has absorbed the liquid and is completely cooked.

Serve With
Ginger sauce
Cucumber
Tomato

Ingredients for Ginger Sauce
20 gms Ginger
5 Small Bird Chillies
3 Garlic Cloves
2 Tablespoons Soya Bean Sauce
1 Teaspoons Salt
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Tablespoons Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce

Preparation for Ginger Sauce
1. Mix all ingredients in a food processor and blend until fine.
2. Serve, yes it's that simple.
3. This sauce can be kept in the fridge and will last months, it is a common condiment for several Thai dishes, so you may wish to make up a batch and store it.

This stir fried rice dish is made with slices of young coconut, pork and onions. Young coconut has a soft texture and can be bought in tins from asian grocers, or scooped out from green coconuts.

Ingredients
50 gms Young Coconut Meat
30 gms Pork Meat
250 gms Fragrant Rice
2 Tablespoons Ketchup
2 Tablespoons Chilli Sauce
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
4 Garlic Cloves
2 Tablespoons Chopped Onion
2 Tablespoons Oil

Preparation
1. Clean and slice the pork meat and the young coconut meat.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan.
3. Chop the garlic and onion and fry for 30 seconds.
4. Add the rice and then all the other ingredients into the pan and stir fry, mixing as it cooks, for 1-2 minutes.

We call this two old friends rice, because Taro and Sweet Potato are both similar root vegetables. This is a good way to use up old vegetables and rice in a tasty stir-fry way.

Ingredients
50 gms Taro
50 gms Sweet Potato
300 gms Cooked Fragrant Rice
3 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon White Pepper
2 Garlic Cloves
20 gms Onion (One Medium Onion)
2 Tablespoons Oil

Preparation
1. Peel the taro and sweet potato, chop into small squares and steam for 10 minutes.
2. Chop the garlic and onion together, heat oil in a frying pan and fry for 30 seconds.
3. Add the rice, taro, sweet potato, light soy sauce, sugar, salt and white pepper.
4. Fry for 2 minutes, mixing all the time.

Serve With
Chilli Sauce
Cucumber
Tomato

This sardine stir fried rice is another way to turn ordinary rice into a full meal. Sardines in cans are not expensive, and they have plenty of flavours plus the saltiness of the fish balances the rice perfectly. The final good thing about this dish is the fish itself, fish oils like the ones found in sardines are very good for you.

Ingredients 2 People
1-2 Tin Can Sardines (80gms)
300 gms Precooked Fragrant Rice
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Tablespoons Chopped Onion
1 Teaspoons Salt
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1/3 Teaspoon White Pepper
2 Tablespoons Chilli Sauce

Preparation
1. Chop the garlic and slice the onions.
2. Heat a little oil in a frying pan, and fry the garlic and onions for a few seconds.
3. Add the cooked rice and fry for 30 seconds to warm it through.
4. Add all the other ingredients including the sardines and stir fry for another 30 seconds.
5. I like to keep a sardine back as a garnish, and add it at the end.

Serve With
Sliced Chillies in Fish Sauce
Sliced Lemon
Mint Leaves
Lettuce
Cucumber

Thai fragrant rice has plenty of subtle flavours, but we eat it every day and on it's own it can get boring! So we have many ways to eat rice, such as this stir fried bean & shitake mushroom rice.

Ingredients
400 gms Cooked Fragrant Rice
50 gms Shitake Mushrooms ( If dried, soak for 15 minutes in water )
50 gms Butter Beans
50 gms Peas
50 gms Corn
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
1 Tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1/3 Teaspoon White Pepper
2 Garlic Cloves Chopped
2 Tablespoons Oil

Preparation
1. Chop the garlic.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan.
3. Fry the garlic in the hot oil for 20 seconds.
4. Add the rice and all the other ingredients and fry for 2 minutes.

Serve With
Cucumber
Tomato
Sliced Chillies in Fish Sauce
Sliced Lemon

This is how to get children to eat their rice and their fruit! Stir fry the two together for a stir fry of rice and fruit. For this dish, sharp acidic fruit are used, such as sour kiwi, strawberry and orange.

Ingredients
30 gms Strawberries
30 gms Orange
30 gms Kiwi
250 gms Cooked Fragrant Rice
2 Garlic Cloves Chopped
1 Tablespoon Chopped Onion
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Maggi Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Oil

Preparation
1. Clean the fruit and chop them into small pieces.
2. Chop the garlic and slice the onion.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan.
4. Add the chopped garlic and sliced onion and fry for 30 seconds.
5. Add the rice and all the other ingredients and stir-fry for 1 minute.
6. Serve with a garnish of fruit or salad vegetables.