I know of at least three good reasons why you would pose at the entrance to the kitchen and ask yourself the following question: “Do I really have to cook today ?” (yes, you probably have to cook. It’s raining cats and dogs outside and the wind is howling. Not a good day to go out!):

You have started a fascinating mystery novel, you are almost at the end of it and absolutely have to finish it – now.
You have out-cooked yourself for the last month or so.
You opened the fridge and there is nothing exciting inside (it’s like when you look at your closet full of clothes one morning and cry “I have nothing to wear!”)

It’s time to drag your feet toward the pantry and take a survey of what is inside. I prefer to cook with fresh vegetables, but I have nothing against using canned, frozen and packaged goods, and today is a perfect day to cook a meal coming straight out of my pantry and freezer, allowing me to fix something quick, save my energy and finish my book.

Thai is one of our favorite foods and I have on hand all the ingredients to make a coconut curry ginger sauce which my husband is so fond of. To make it, I will need the following:

Note: I don’t travel to the end of the world to find the following ingredients. They are on hand at my local supermarket.

Coconut Curry Ginger Sauce

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Course Main Course

Cuisine Thai

Ingredients

Out of the pantry:

1 can light coconut milk
1 medium-sized onion or shallot

Out of the refrigerator:

1 jar of curry paste
1 tube of lemongrass
1 vegetable cube

Out of the freezer:

1 package of frozen grated garlic cubes
1 package of frozen grated ginger cubes
pouch of frozen chopped parsley

Optional:

Shrimp (medium-sized, cooked and frozen)

Instructions

In a medium-size frying pan, sauté the onion in one tablespoon of regular oil until translucent.

Add to the cooked onion:

Two cubes of garlic
Two cubes of ginger
One tablespoon of curry paste (or more, according to taste)
One tablespoon of lemongrass paste (or more, according to taste)
Stir for a few minutes until everything has blended together and the mixture is fragrant.
Add the can of light coconut milk and the vegetable cube.
A quarter of a cup of parsley.
Let it simmer gently for five minutes. Et voilà! your lunch is ready.
You can add frozen shrimp to this sauce and accompany it with rice and you will have a fulfilling meal.
There might even be some leftover for the following day’s lunch.

Notes

Oh dear, the only real hard work you will face is the peeling and fine chopping of the medium-sized onion. But you could even skip that step, just this once!

Keyword Coconut, Ginger, Thai

In Praise of Laziness: Coconut Curry Ginger Sauce