Thai Red Curry with Chicken and Bamboo Shoots

Cut the chicken into 3cm pieces. Tip the bamboo shoots into a sieve, rinse well under cold water, then simmer them in a small pan of water for 2 minutes and drain. This removes the tinny taste from the tin. Slice the red pepper, tear the lime leaves in half, discarding any hard central stalk, and pick the basil leaves.

Open the tin of coconut milk without shaking it. Spoon the thick cream from the top (about 5 tablespoons) into a wok or wide pan and heat over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until it bubbles and the oil begins to separate. If your tin has not separated, use 100ml of the milk and cook it for about 5 minutes, until reduced and glossy.

Add the curry paste and sugar and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, pressing the paste into the cream, until it darkens, smells fragrant and the oil turns red at the edges. Do not skip this step: paste that is not cooked tastes harsh.

Add the chicken and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, until the outside turns opaque and each piece is coated in paste.

Pour in the rest of the coconut milk with 150ml of water. Add the fish sauce and lime leaves and bring to a gentle simmer. A hard boil can split the coconut milk. Cook for 10 minutes.

While the curry simmers, rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Boil it in plenty of water for 10 minutes, drain, then return it to the pan, cover and leave to steam for 5 minutes.

Add the bamboo shoots and red pepper to the curry and simmer for 5 minutes more, until the chicken is cooked through with no pink and the pepper is just tender.

Taste and adjust. Fish sauce adds salt and depth, and sugar rounds off the heat, so a curry that tastes flat usually needs more fish sauce and one that tastes sharp needs a little more sugar. Take the pan off the heat, stir in half of the basil and serve over the rice with the rest of the basil and lime wedges. Ordinary basil works if you cannot find Thai basil.