This is a delicious Thai chicken recipe, rich with the full bodied flavors of Thai food.

This recipe uses lemon grass, a traditional seasoning in Thai food.

You can buy the red curry paste in pretty much any grocery store now, but if yours doesn't carry it, an Asian grocery store will certainly have it.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (50 ml) onions, diced
1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup (50 ml) lemon grass, chopped
3 tablespoons (40 ml) canola oil
8 ounces (225 g) eggplant, chopped into cubes
2 - 14 ounce (398 ml) cans light coconut milk, shaken
1/2 cup (125 ml) water
2 tablespoons (30 ml) red thai curry paste
1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce
1 - 10 ounce (284 ml) can bamboo shoots, sliced
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
4 carrots, peeled & cut into matchsticks
6 ounces (170 g) fresh green beans, trimmed & sliced into sticks
1 sweet red pepper, sliced
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
cooked whole grain Basmati rice

Directions:
Saute onion, ginger and lemon grass in a skillet using 2 tablespoons of oil for 5 minutes. Add eggplant and remaining oil. Saute until the eggplant is soft, approximately 15 minutes.

Add the coconut milk, water, thai curry paste to taste and the soy sauce. Add the bamboo shoots and chicken and bring it all to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the carrots, beans, red pepper and the cilantro. Simmer until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, which will be approximately 10 minutes.

Serve over the cooked rice.

Serves 4

• Lemon grass can be hard and tough, so chop it into fairly small pieces to use in this recipe.
• You can use regular canned coconut milk instead of the light variety. Choose whichever you prefer.
• Basmati rice is the traditional rice used in Thai cooking, but long grain white or brown rice will work well also. Choose your favorite.