Pretty Fast Thai-Style Chicken Curry by Bookseller

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into half-inch chunks
1 heaping teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon sugar (brown sugar, ideally)
1 teaspoon red chile flakes or minced fresh jalapeno
1 tablespoon minced lemongrass*
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (not olive) or peanut oil
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
3 scallions, white part only, chopped fairly fine
1 cup chopped cilantro

*Lemongrass comes in long stalks that look sort of like dry grass. Cut off the bottom inch or two, and you will see that the stalk is actually made up of rings, like an onion. Peel off the outer two or three of those rings, exposing the relatively tender heart (there may be a dark pink circle toward the middle -- that's fine). Using the back of your big knife, bash the exposed bit so that the fibers open up -- this will make it much easier to mince them. This is probably the most difficult part of this recipe, because lemongrass is surprisingly tough, so you'll have to use a little elbow-grease to mince it fine.

1. Toss the chicken chunks with the chile, the lemongrass, the curry powder, the sugar and a big pinch of salt. Wash your hands well (always, after handling raw poulty -- and don't forget to wash the knife you used to cut up the chicken).

2. Put oil in nonstick skillet, over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the chicken, and cook the chicken, stirring it around a little (no need to go nuts) until it stops looking raw and starts looking like cooked chicken. Throw in your veggies (see below), turn the heat to high, and cook, stirring often, until the veggies get limp. They will probably give up some liquid as they cook (that's what makes them limp), and you want to boil away that liquid, which will otherwise make your sauce watery.

3. Pour in the coconut milk and cook for another two or three minutes, until the sauce thickens a little bit. Add the fish sauce and nuts, and cook for another 30 seconds or so. Taste it -- depending on the brand of fish sauce you used, you may need to add a little salt (and next time you make it, add the salt to the curry powder and sugar that you toss the chicken with). Take the pan off the heat, spoon the curry over rice or noodles (or -- yum and so healthy -- maybe slices of baked sweet potato?), and sprinkle with cilantro and scallions. If you want to freeze it, lave out the cilantro and scallions, and add them when you reheat. I'd serve it with some cut up fresh mango on the side.

Notes: Veggies: You can really go to town here. Me, I'd probably add a big handful of stringbeans (with the heads and tails cut off, and the beans cut in half), a red pepper cut into strips (scoop the seeds out first), and maybe some frozen peas (no need to thaw'em, just toss'em in frozen). Snow peas would work, too, as would broccoli florets, slivered carrots (both of these are somewhat "hard" veggies, meaning you'll need to cook them longer than others), spinach or other greens like slivered kale (my fave) or collards.

I really would use chicken thighs rather than breasts. If you use skinless, as here, the fat content is not significantly higher, and they stand up MUCH better to both cooking and freezing.

If you can't find lemongrss or don't want to deal with it, you can use a little lemon zest (that's the yellow part -- not the white -- of a lemon rind). Just grate it into the bowl and don't worry too much about the amount. I'd probably use the rind of a whole lemon.

It's tough to say how many people this will serve -- it really depends on appetites and what you use by way of veggies. I'd say 4 -6, but if Boy's a big eater, he could easily eat 2 portions without being at all piggish. And you could certainly increase the amount of chicken by perhaps 50% without boosting the coconut milk (do increase the curry powder/lemongrass/sugar, etc., though), if you want a healthier balance of protein to fat. FWIW, I don't really like "lite" coconut milk; it's basically just cut with water, and I'd rather use less of the real thing and another kind of flavorful liquid, with some thickening at the end.

Also look under Hints and Tips for ways to modify this recipe.