Eating wild roots - Recipe for Thai-style Burdock & Chicken Curry

The Really WILD Food Guide

THAI-STYLE BURDOCK & CHICKEN CURRY

If no pestle and mortar to make a smooth curry paste the chopped items can be placed in the bottom of a cup and pummelled with the handle of a wooden spoon or similar - resulting in something looking like a fine salsa. If you happen to have a blender, more power to your elbow.

Vary chicken and burdock content to taste or circumstances. Suggested starting point is ½ a cup of chicken and a handful of shredded burdock.

Some further seeded slices of chilli are added in the last few minutes of cooking to provide a little visual extra - and taste too !

VARIATIONS & ALTERNATIVES
If you have access to authentic Thai ingredients like fish sauce, lemon grass and root ginger - not exactly what you expect to find in Britain's wilds granted - you might want to incorporate these too. A little sugar will help reduce the heat of the curry spices.

1½ cups of coconut milk (or equivalent made up from block of creamed coconut)
½ -1 cup chicken meat - diced
1 handful shredded burdock root
Butter or oil
Salt and pepper

For the curry paste
1 garlic clove
1 red chilli - seeded
1 shallot / small onion - sliced
Ground coriander, pepper, cumin, ginger, cinnamon & turmeric - pinches
1 lime - juice
Salt

[Main ingredients above are approx. per person, but obviously variable according to taste and circumstance.]

METHOD

· Begin by making the curry paste... Chop the garlic clove, chilli and shallot and place in a pestle and mortar [keep a few slices of chilli back for garnishing]. · Add pinches of the spices and salt then pound the mixture together, adding a couple of squeezes of lime juice. · Set aside.

· Put half a cup of the coconut milk in a thick based saucepan and bring to the boil. · As it begins to thicken stir in the curry mixture.
· Cook for a couple of minutes until almost evaporated then add the chicken. · Cook for about 5 minutes - or until the pieces cooked through - keeping the mixture moving. · Once cooked add the remaining coconut milk, shredded burdock and any remaining lime juice. · Bring to the boil, add seasoning then simmer until the sauce thickens a little.
· Serve with rice.

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