Thai prawn & asparagus pilaf

Guess who's back, back again... I come bearing excitingly flavoured gifts. I noticed this recipe while in Waitrose but substituted a few ingredients because a) my mum doesn't love super spicy food and b) we didn't have them all. I present to you thai prawn & asparagus pilaf!

A bit like a spicy risotto, this dish is great cause it only uses one pan. I am definitely going to turn this into one of my go-to recipes, it's relatively quick and easy and tastes great.

Thai prawn & asparagus pilaf

Ingredients for 4 people:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
250g basmati rice
600ml vegetable stock, warmed
50g pot thai red curry paste (you can use green too)
100g frozen peas
200g asparagus (chopped into small pieces)
200g prawns (either raw or cooked, I went for the latter but think raw would taste even better)
20g fresh coriander
Lime wedges, to serve (optional)

Method:

1. Rinse the rise thoroughly and soak it for about 30 minutes, this makes it extra fluffy. Alternatively if you don't have enough time just place the rice in a sieve and run water over it for a minute or so.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the onion. Fry for 3 minutes and then add the (drained) basmati rice and toss with the onion.

For those wondering what rice and onion look like together.

3. Stir in the stock and curry paste, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, place the lid back on and leave to cook for 15 minutes.

Funky curry paste, would recommend.

The timing here depends on how long your rice takes to cook. Mine took 25 minutes, but if you use a quick cook rice I'd suggest reducing the cooking time here to 10 minutes or so.

4. Stir in the peas, asparagus and prawns, cover the pan and cook for a further 6-8 minutes, on a low heat.

The prawns pre-mixing. They look a bit naked :-(

Once again, the timings at this stage depend on whether or not your prawns have been pre-cooked. If they are raw it will take a bit longer. Always ensure they are cooked through!

5. Fluff up the rice with a fork and stir through the coriander. Serve immediately with lime wedges.

I enjoyed making this dish, the kitchen smelt incredible. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the over powering coriander taste and next time I'd be much less liberal with it!

Happy Friday,
Alice