Coconut Curry Chicken Stew

I’m having a whirlwind romance with chicken thighs, you guys. I’ve always loved them but very rarely bought them for home consumption. I saw them as a special moist treat for when I visited a fried chicken joint. But no more! I’ve been using them for the past few months in most every chicken recipe I can find and I have no regrets. This savory and filling stew especially needs the darker meat to keep up with the other strong flavors. Makes about a week’s worth of leftovers for one, or several days worth of very large helpings for two. Talk about a budget meal! And it tastes better and better the longer it sits.

Note: you can easily make this paleo-friendly by subbing out the peas and corn for other veggies like eggplant, carrots, or cauliflower. Win!

Ingredients

• 5-6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
• 1 small Vidalia onion, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp curry powder (this is my 100% favorite kind)
• red chili flakes to taste
• 2lbs chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 can baby corn, cut into manageable pieces
• 2 cups peas (or the veggie of your choice), can be fresh or frozen
• 2 cans coconut milk
• 2 tsp cornstarch

In a food processor if you have one (the blender will do otherwise), puree the garlic, onion, and ginger. Inhale deeply and feel it cleansing your pores from the inside out. In a heavy-bottomed pot (see, e.g. a Le Creuset), heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the puree and cook until extra fragrant (just a few minutes). Stir in your spices and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the chicken to the pot and bring the heat up just a bit. Mix it all up and keep moving the chicken around so it’s all evenly cooking. You’ll want to at least sear the chicken on all sides before you add the liquid.

Once the chicken is mostly cooked, pour in the coconut milk, reserving a bit of the thick cream on top. This will be how you will incorporate the cornstarch later… Also add your veggies of choice and let it simmer away until the chicken is completely cooked through. Whisk the cornstarch into the reserved coconut cream and add to the pot at the end. If you like a thinner soup, just skip that part! I wanted something more stick-to-your-ribs, so I went with it. You can serve this over rice if you’d  like, but it’s pretty perfect just on its own. Enjoy in the cooling night air with good company and a glass of white wine.

Warm and satisfying!

Mango Curry Chicken Salad

Please excuse my absence, but I’ve been neck-deep in new job and moving. My new loft is right in the heart of Downtown Macon, which means I am two blocks from work and a hop, skip, and a jump away from all my favorite places to eat! The new job has left me little time for cooking, but tonight I made my first official meal in my new kitchen. *cue heavenly lights and angelic choir* My mom makes a divine curry chicken salad, but I decided that I wanted a simpler, sweeter version of the same. Don’t be weirded out by the ingredients – I promise it will all be alright in the end. Super simple, super tasty!

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. mayonnaise (f’real f’real)
• 2 tsp. curry powder
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. Sriracha (awwww yeeeeah)
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked to your idea of perfection and chunked thoroughly
• 1 mango, cut into small cubes
• 1 or 2 scallions, sliced thinly
• lettuce of your choice

Mix together the first six ingredients in a bowl. This is your delightful dressing. Toss with the chicken and mango and gently add the scallions. Mound on top of a fresh bed of lettuce and sprinkle with a few more scallions. Tangy with a hint of spice. Add more Sriracha if you want to feel the burn. Nom!!

Oof. Yes.