Thai Chicken Curry

When Dave and I first started dating, it was quickly apparent that we enjoyed staying in and cooking a nice meal, rather than going out.  We are boring and practical like that. I had a few go to recipes but I quickly realized that is was time to try out new recipes.  Since I was spending all my time at his apt for various reasons (close to school, my crazy roommate, the closure of the Montrose Brown Line stop, etc), I relied on various cookbooks that he had on his shelf, resulting from various graduation presents. This recipe is from Dave Lieberman’s “Young and Hungry” This isn’t a bad cookbook. Lots of pretty pictures, but I’ll be honest, this is the only thing that I have made out of the book, but it is def. yummy. I have made this half a dozen times since that first time in his tiny PT Studio kitchen. It is even better the next day, packed in gladware for lunch. I promise.


Thai Chicken Curry
2 cups white rice (we buy Jasmine by the HUGE 10Lb bag)
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts (around 2) cut into pieces
Crushed red pepper flakes
Vegetable Oil
1 small onion, diced
I red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon curry power
1 tablespoon sugar
Thumb-size piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (get the full fat stuff…seriously)
Handful of snow peas
Handful of basil (I only throw them in if I already have them, no need to buy if you are lacking)
Juice of 1 lime (also something you can omit if you like)
Zest of 1 lime (optional…I like the rice plain)
Salt and Black Pepper-duh.

Cook the rice (get a rice cooker-it rocks).

Toss the chicken strips in a bowl with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and 2 tablespoons of oil. Heat a skillet over high heat and cook the chicken until they start to brown (about 5 mins, push them around so they don’t stick). Once there is no pink, scoop the chicken onto a plate. Lower the pan heat to medium-high and add a bit more oil. Slide in the onions and cook, stirring until they turn translucent (4-5 min). Add the red bell pepper and garlic (mmm garlic) and cook another 2 mins. Add the curry powder (hold your breath), sugar and ginger and cook 1 more min. Add the broth and coconut milk and turn the heat up to high. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring often until the sauce reduces by 1/4 (whatever that really means), 7-8 min. Slide the chicken back in and add the snow peas. Cook for a min or two, add the basil and lime juice and season with the S&P to taste.
Stir the zest into the lime (if ya want). Then serve the rice and curry in a bowl so that you can mix them together. Yum.