There are many benefits of being single, one of them is dating. A few months ago I went out with someone and he took me to a Thai restaurant. The only thing I've ever ordered at a Thai restaurant is peanut chicken satay. It's safe and doesn't have all those crazy smelling spices in it. Well I wasn't about to tell him I hate Thai food, so I sucked it up and let him order whatever he loved on the menu. One of the dishes he ended up ordering was Coconut Curry, and I LOVED IT! Who knew I loved Thai food?! I thought I hated it! Thank you unnamed first date boy :)
So ever since that date, I've been craving curry. Weird! I went to the grocery store yesterday and decided I would try to recreate that delicious coconut curry. I have never in my life even looked up a Thai recipe. I decided it couldn't be that hard though, right?!??
I picked up a prepackaged curry spice package and read it: Main ingredients- Curry spice, red peppers, water, garlic salt, oil and soy sauce. Done & done, I can do that.
I made my guinea pig roommate test out my recipe and this was her exact wording: "Wow, this is better than any curry I've had in a restaurant!" Boom! Success!!!
::::Here's the recipe::::
1 red bell pepper- thinly sliced into strips
1/2 yellow onion- thinly sliced into strips
1/2 jalapeno - seeded & finely chopped (if you want it extra spicey add seeds but Beware!)
3/4 sprigs green onion- chopped
1 chicken breast
2 garlic cloves- minced
1 can coconut milk
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup medium grain rice (or indian rice if you prefer the taste)
To start pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the chicken with salt and pepper for 26 minutes.
The rice takes around 15-20 minutes as well, so start on that next. Boil 2 cups of water in a pot & add one cup of rice. Reduce heat to low and cook rice covered.
The curry mixture takes less than 10 minutes to cook, so try to start on this 5-10 minutes after you heat the rice. Heat oil in a medium size skillet over medium heat. Throw in the veggies- bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, green onion and garlic. Cook those until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk, curry powder, salt & pepper & water. Allow this to cook on medium high heat, so that it has a light boil for another few minutes until the mixture starts to thicken.
Around this time your rice and chicken should be about ready. Take the chicken out and shred it into thin strips. Throw it in the curry.
Serve the curry on top of the sticky rice. I know I say this about all of my recipes, but this one is truly a winner. Even if you think you don't like curry, open up your palate and try it, you might just be surprised!
