panang curry

2 T oil
2-5 T panang curry paste - depending on how spicy you want it
2 T peanut butter
3/4 C brown sugar (or grated palm sugar if you want to be authentic)
2-4 T Thai fish sauce (what the Thai use in lieu of table salt)
1.5 lbs raw chicken cut into small pieces (The Thai are suspicious of large cuts of meat and consider it rude to serve meat in anything but small pieces.)
2 red bell peppers cut into small pieces
~1 cup peas
1 can of coconut milk
regular milk - enough to fill the coconut milk can twice
3 kafir lime leaves
2 anise star seed pods
2 T fresh Thai basil (regular basil can be subsituted, but it's just not the same)
1 large can of pineapple chunks, drained
3 cups of Jasmine rice - follow directions to cook

Ok. So in a large pot or wok, heat the oil. Add the curry, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Stir a bit to bring out the flavour. Add the chicken and fish sauce. Continue cooking over med. high heat until meat is browned. Add veggetables, stir until everything is covered in curry and smelling yummy. Add the cocunut milk and regular milk. If you want thick sauce, add just one can of regular milk. Add the kafir lime leaves, basil and anise. Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes or so. Just before you're ready to eat, stir in the pineapple. We serve it in bowls with the rice and Sriracha chili sauce.