Thai Chili

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces*
• 3T red curry paste (2T reserved)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 cups vegetable stock (found next to the chicken stock)
• 1/2 cup bulgar wheat (found in the bulk isle)
• 2 cups sweet potato/yam, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium raw green bell pepper, chopped (1 c)
• 3 cups dark red kidney beans, drained
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 cups pureed tomatoes
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced (1 reserved for garnish)

 

Directions

1. Cook chicken with 1T of curry until fully cooked (use small amount of olive oil to keep from sticking if needed)
2. In a 4 qt. stock pot, combine curry paste, cumin and bit of broth.  Whisk until the curry paste is smooth and no longer in clumps.
3. Add remaining broth, bulgur, sweet potato/yam and bell pepper and bring to boil.
4. Turn down to medium low, cover tightly and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Then, add beans, coconut milk, tomato puree, and chicken. Stir
6. Cook uncovered for 7 minutes until bulgar is tender and chili is thick
7. Stir in 2 sliced green onions and black pepper and serve garnished with reserved green onion.

*For a vegan version of this recipe, omit chicken.

This recipe was adapted from the Clean Eating magazine - I added chicken and additional curry paste amongst a few other slight modifications.  Even with the added curry, I would still say it's very low on the spicy scale (only 1-2 stars).  It's very healthy (could go low-sodium vegetable broth and low fat coconut milk for added health benefits) and the flavors are delicious.  I was surprised at how easy it was to make... and fast!  I had never cooked with bulgar before and really like the texture.  Hubby gave it two thumbs up, although we are all Thai food lovers and enjoy the curry flavor.  Definitely a repeat recipe for us!  This recipe makes about 10 cups of finished soup, so I doubled for dinner club.