Homemade Swimming Rama In A The Slow Cooker
We love our slow-cooker for about a million reasons, and we’re adding one of our favorite Thai meals to the list. While we’ve never met a Thai dish that we didn’t like—somewhere along the line, swimming Rama became our go-to takeout order. Make a feast by serving this with Cold Thai Noodle Salad and Thai Basil Beef.
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What Is Swimming Rama?
Swimming rama has a similar flavor profile to satay sauce. It’s a play between salty and sweet, creamy and nutty, flavor and texture. As to the origin of the dish, we’re grateful to food writer Pailin Chongchitnant of “Hot Thai Kitchen” for adding clarity. Chongchitnant explains that in Thailand, the Hindu god Rama is depicted as having green skin and so the greens that are served with this dish—we use spinach, either raw or cooked—are the reason it’s called “rama.” In Thailand, this dish has fallen out of favor, but in America’s Thai restaurants it’s quite popular.
Ingredients You’ll Need To Make Swimming Rama
Chicken breasts – In Thailand, this is often made with pork, but in the U.S. you'll find it made with chicken. Either is great!
For the sauce – Peanut butter, coconut cream, red curry paste, soy sauce, brown sugar, fish sauce, apple cider vinegar
Spinach or other sturdy green
Rice – Make a pot of fluffy White Rice to serve with Swimming Rama
For serving – Basil, peanuts, chili flakes
How To Make Swimming Rama in a Slow-Cooker
Make the sauce. Whisk the peanut butter, coconut cream, red curry paste, soy sauce, brown sugar, fish sauce and apple cider vinegar.
Add everything to your slow-cooker. Pour the swimming Rama sauce into a slow-cooker along with the chicken breast.
Cook on low until it’s done!
Add the spinach. You can either stir it directly into the chicken and sauce until it’s wilted, or you can simply serve the cooked chicken over a bed of raw spinach.
Add the toppings. Sprinkle with fresh basil, crushed peanuts and chili flakes and serve with cooked White Rice.
How to Store Leftover Swimming Rama + Tips
Leftovers are good in the fridge for 3-4 days. This is a really great meal to freeze. We recommend freezing only the chicken in the sauce and adding the spinach for service.
Don’t have any rice on hand? No prob! Skip wilting the spinach and serve the Rama over a bed of raw spinach. It will wilt slightly on the plate!
After three hours of cooking, be sure to check the chicken for doneness. Because the chicken breast is cut into small pieces, four hours might be too long.
Looking for a vegetarian option? Skip the chicken (and slow-cooking), and use baked tofu instead.
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