Category: Asian

Thai Red Coconut Curry with Chicken

This delicious Thai dish is full of fresh, bright flavors and is the perfect balance between spicy, sweet and savory.  It also comes together in about 30 minutes, making it the perfect dish for a busy weeknight or some time when you don’t want takeout but aren’t wanting to spend a ton of time in the kitchen either.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

  1. 2-3 lbs chicken breasts, thinly sliced
  2. 2 TBSP red curry paste
  3. 1 small onion, diced
  4. 1 small shallot, diced
  5. 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  6. 1 orange bell pepper, sliced
  7. 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
  8. 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
  9. Zest of 2 limes
  10. 1 TBSP fresh ginger, grated (or 2 tsp dried powdered)
  11. 1 TBSP anchovy paste or 2 TBSP Thai Fish Sauce (because umami!)
  12. 2 TBSP sweet Thai chili sauce
  13. 2 TBSP soy sauce
  14. 1 cup cheap saké (or chicken stock, if you don’t want to use alcohol), for deglazing
  15. 2 cans full-fat coconut milk
  16. juice of 2-3 limes
  17. 1 TBSP brown sugar
  18. 1 cup fresh basil, leaves roughly torn
  19. Garnish:  Freshly squeezed limes and cilantro (optional)
  20. White rice, for serving

Mise-En-Place

  1. In a medium bowl, mix curry paste and cubed chicken and set aside
  2. Prepare ingredients 3-7, combine, and set aside in a medium bowl (this is your base)
  3. Prepare ingredients 8-10, combine, and set aside in a small bowl (these are your aromatics)
  4. Prepare ingredients 11-13, combine, and set aside in a small bowl (this is your umami bomb)
  5. Measure out saké or chicken stock
  6. Open cans of coconut milk
  7. Measure out brown sugar and lime juice and mix together in a small bowl
  8. Prepare basil and set aside

Cook

  1. Add about 2-3TBSP coconut or olive oil to a large saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking.  Add chicken with curry paste and sauté until chicken is ever so slightly browned (it doesn’t need to be cooked through) and fragrant.  Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve (it’s fine to put it back in the same bowl, you’re going to finish cooking it in the sauce later anyway).
  2. Lower heat to medium.  Add your base (ingredients 3-7) and sauté until onions are translucent and peppers have become quite soft, 3-5 minutes.
  3. Add your aromatics (ingredients 8-10), and continue to sauté until very fragrant, 1-2 minutes
  4. Add saké or chicken stock (flambé if you like), and bring to a boil, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Once boiling, reduce to a simmer.
  5. Add umami bomb (ingredients 11-13) and stir well to incorporate
  6. Stir in coconut milk and brown sugar/lime-juice-mixture, and continue to stir until sauce is well incorporated.  Bring sauce to a boil and allow to reduce by approximately 1/3
  7. Add chicken (and any juices) back to the sauce and stir in.  Allow to simmer, 8-10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
  8. In the last 2 minutes of cooking, stir in the fresh basil and cook for 1 minute.  Off the heat, cover, and allow to sit for 5 minutes to give flavors a chance to marry.
  9. Serve over white rice and garnish with a few squeezes of fresh lime juice and fresh cilantro.

Butterless Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

This dish preps in about 20 minutes, cooks all day, and then awaits you when you get home from work (or whatever you are doing).  The addition of yogurt makes it a bit healthier than the traditional all-butter-and-cream method, and adds a zesty tang to the final product.  Serve this over a bed of white rice and brighten it up with a garnish of fresh cilantro and a few squeezes of lime just before serving.

Time: 20 minutes (active prep), 6-8 hours (in the slow cooker)
Level: Easy
Cost: About $3 per plate
Serves: 4- 6

Ingredients

  1. 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  2. 1 medium white onion, finely diced
  3. 2 tsp garam marsala
  4. 2 tsp yellow curry powder
  5. 2 tsp cayenne powder (less if you can’t handle a bit of heat)
  6. 1 tsp cumin powder
  7. 1/2 tsp ginger
  8. 1 6oz can tomato paste
  9. 1 cup full fat plain Greek yogurt
  10. 3 TBSP heavy cream (or coconut cream if you want it super healthy and you like the flavor)
  11. Optional:  If you like it a bit more “soupy”, you can add a cup of water or stock to the mixture.
  12. About 3 lbs chicken breast (or boneless thighs), cubed into 1 – 1.5 inch cubes

Instructions

Coat the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray.

Combine ingredients 1-7 in the slow cooker and stir well to combine.  Add ingredients 8-10 (and 11 if using) and stir well to combine again.  Add chicken and stir well to combine a third time.  Cover, and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.

That was easy, wasn’t it?

Chicken Tikka Masala

So far, I haven’t posted any Asian-inspired recipes on this blog – this is the first one.  Basically, it was interesting to note that although the ingredients were a bit different, the process is basically the same as it is for any one-pot wonder.

Time: 90 minutes on stove top; 4 hrs slow-cooker on HIGH; 8 hrs slow-cooker on LOW
Level: Easy
Cost: About $5 per plate
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

  1. 2 lb s  boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
    1. NOTE:  If going the slow cooker route, I’d recommend opting for thighs – they are higher in fat content and are less likely to dry out over an extended cooking time.
  2. 1 cup full fat Greek Yogurt
  3. Juice of 1 lemon
  4. 5 cloves garlic, minced
  5. 1 medium sized onion, diced
  6. 2 TSP freshly grated ginger (or powdered is fine in a pinch)
  7. 2 TBSP garam masala
  8. 2 TSP paprika
  9. 2 TSP kosher salt
  10. 2 TBSP tomato paste
  11. 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
  12. 1 14oz can low sodium chicken broth (stove top method only)
  13. 1 can full-fat coconut milk
  14. Fresh cilantro, chopped, for serving

Prep:

  1. Cut the chicken into 1 inch cubes and marinate in Greek yogurt and juice of 1 lemon for a minimum of 30 minutes or a maximum of 2 hours.
  2. Dice onion, garlic, and 2 TSP cilantro
  3. Mix ginger garam masala, paprika and salt together in a small bowl and set aside

Cook:

Add 2 TBSP olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat until shimmering but not smoking (about 350F – 375F).  Add chicken, (working in batches if you have to) and brown on all sides.  Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium.  Add onion and cilantro and sauté until fragrant and onions are translucent, 2-3 minutes (don’t burn this stuff, make sure your pan isn’t too hot before dumping everything in!)  Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 more minutes.  Add spice mixture and tomato paste and sauté for 1 minute more, stirring constantly.  Add canned tomatoes and their juices and stir constantly for 3-5 minutes more making sure nothing gets stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Slow-Cooker:  If using a slow-cooker, add the reserved chicken to the cooker and then add the tomato mixture on top.  Cover the slow-cooker and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for four hours.

Stove Top:  If making on the stove top, add the can of chicken broth to the tomato mixture and then add the reserved chicken.  Cover partially and simmer on low heat 40-60 minutes until liquid is reduced and chicken is cooked through.

In the last 15 minutes of cooking, stir in coconut milk, stir well and allow to simmer with the lid off until flavors are melded together and sauce has thickened.

Serve over steamed rice and garnish with fresh cilantro.