Coconut Curry Chicken

I LOVE Thai food. I actually love ALL foods spicy, but I love, love, LOVE every dish that our local Thai restaurant, Thai Paradise in San Clemente, serves. It's a family-owned, hole-in-the-wall restaurant and everything they serve is absolutely DELICIOUS! Everything is just...well...DEEEEELISH!!!

I love curry and I love coconut so it's not a surprise that I absolutely LOVE coconut curry chicken. YUMMMMMMM!!! I used regular curry powder so I could feed my kids this dish, too. They ate it up! Next time, I'll set aside a small batch for the boys and then kick up the heat with Madras curry powder for Hubby and myself. If I had a little more time, I would've thickened the sauce and added more curry but it was really great as is. :) I'm positive the curry would've been better on Day 2 after the flavors had a chance to meld together but we didn't have any leftovers to prove it. It was that good!

This dish is fast and easy to put together. I had to prep a quick meal before the cabinet guy and contractor came over. Since I've been cooking so much, a kitchen remodel may be in our near future. I'm SO excited! I'm quadruple crossing fingers and toes hoping that we can make this happen. :)

My picture does NOT do this dish justice. 

This was good. Real good.

Coconut Curry Chicken

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 4-5 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbs garlic, minced
• 1/2 tbs curry powder (use Madras Curry if you love spicy curry)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1- 15oz can light coconut milk
• 1 c fresh *basil chiffonade
• **rice

Directions:

1. Prepare **rice.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in large non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Add onion and saute 3-4 mins. Add basil and stir for 1 min. Set aside in bowl and keep warm.
3. Heat remaining 2 tsp oil in same skillet over med-high heat. Add garlic, curry powder and salt and stir for 1 min. 
4. Add chicken and stir fry for 4-5 mins.
5. Add coconut milk, stir constantly and cook another 4-5 mins or until chicken is done. Stir in *basil chiffonade and mix well.
6. Serve over rice. Curry is great over noodles, too. 

Notes: *Basil chiffonade is a fancy term for "wash, dry and stack your basil leaves, roll lengthwise into tight roll and use a super sharp knife to cut crosswise into pretty little strips." :)

TIP: **Tips learned from my Mom...If using short-grain "sticky" rice, wash rice well till water is no longer cloudy. Water should be clear before you cook the rice. Once water is clean and clear, let sit for 15-20+ mins before you cook. When rice is cooked, immediately "fluff" using a rice paddle/spoon. Give the rice a good stir but don't smash down. :) Optional: add rice wine vinegar to flavor rice...like sushi rice. 

Source: Adapted from You're Gonna Bake it After All