Chicken-Shrimp Coconut Curry
Intro:
This recipe is based on three that were found online, plus from personal expereince. I just had this craving for spicy coconut curry following a night of pubbing. And, I also had this one dish in my mind that is served by my favorite Thai restaurant aptly called
Thai Ginger here in Redmond. They make a superb Chicken-Basil Curry served with sticky rice; I take mine with about 3-Stars of heat and it goes down best with a 16 oz. bottle of
Singha Beer. Best fricken meal in town, I kid you not! Anyways – that’s the inspiration for the recipe.
It's a bit complex and having three distinct processes, so I’ve broken it up into parts.
Part 1: Create the Ghee.
Take about ½ stick of real salted Butter, reduced to
Ghee (a separate process taking about an hour). Whilst this is progressing, begin the next part.
Part 2: The Sauté.
- 1 Medium White Walla Walla Onion, coarsely chopped
1 inch long length of Fresh Ginger Root, peeled, and chopped finely
5 cloves of fresh Garlic, chopped finely
4 inches of Leek, sliced ¼ inch thick
1 Anaheim Pepper, chopped
Spices:
- Salt
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
5 or 6 Whole Black Peppercorns
Dash of Oregano
½ Tsp. of Crushed dried Red Chili Pepper
1 Tbsp. of Yellow Curry Powder
3 small Bay Leaves
Pinch of Fennel
When the Ghee is nearly ready, take a stock pot and add a good dang splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Bring it up with low heat. Add the Ghee to the oil, lightly blend, then begin the Sauté of the ingredients above on medium-low heat until the onions begin to turn; about 15-20 minutes.
Part 3: Cook the Chicken.
This step can take place as soon as the sauté begins. Start a saucepan with 2 cups water and place the burner on High. Add 1 package (about a 1lb.) of Chicken Tenders (sliced up bits for stir fry), cut to bite-size. Bring to boil, reduce heat to prevent boil-over and hold for about 5 minutes; enough to turn the chicken white, then turn off the heat and let rest. We’ll use the boiled water as chicken stock to the pot when the sauté is complete.
Part 4: Veg Prep.
Add the following to a mixing bowl whilst the sauté is progressing.
- Leftover vegetables (optional): ½ green bell pepper – chopped, ¼ head of broccoli – chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, cleaned and chopped
2 Yellow Squash, chopped
3-4 Carrots, unpeeled and julienned
3 stalks of Celery, sliced
½ dozen Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes, unpeeled and chopped
1 small lunch-bag full of typical Mushrooms, chopped
The sauté will finish up in before completing this step; no worries. Just having some veggies ready is a good start.
Part 5: Build the Stock Pot.
- Add the water/chicken stock to the stock pot, thereby greatly increasing the amount of fluid. Save the chicken; we'll get to it soon.
Add 2 cans of Coconut Milk (13.5 oz.). Raise the heat slightly to medium.
Spices and ingredients to the pot:
- 1 small cinnamon stick, about 3 inches long
1 package (0.66 oz.) of fresh Basil, chopped (amount varies to taste)
The juice of 1 Lime, completely squeezed out
1 bunch of Cilantro, chopped (amount varies to taste)
Add about ½ of the vegetables from the previous step; the pot should be starting to boil.
Add 2 more cans of Coconut Milk (13.5 oz.).
Add 1 6-oz. can of Tomato Paste; it will eventually blend in on its’ own.
1 oz. bag of Mexican Sesame Seeds for texture (optional)
Add the rest of the vegetables from the previous step. By this time the contents will thicken. I added another 2 cups of water to keep it fluid.
Add 1 unit of Grape-sized Tomatoes: 10.5 oz. of “Cherubs” Salad Tomatoes
Add the chicken.
Add about 1 lb. of peeled shrimp. Mine was previously frozen and probably precooked.
Once the boil returns, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow simmering.
Finishing touches:
Adjust spices to suit. I ended up adding another tbsp. of Curry Powder and a few more turns of the Pepper mill. Also, one recipe I espied called out for a small amount of sugar; thinking about it, I don’t own sugar and instead added a dollop of honey to slightly sweeten the pot. Surprisingly I did not need to add more salt. It smells incredible! The extra water will allow for the whole pot to simmer and reduce for about 1-2 hours; we need to wait for the mushrooms to cook.
At first I thought I’d use green coconut, so I bought 2 and was going to harvest the meat and liquid to make my own. But the 4 cans provided enough milk, plus the 2 cups of chicken stock added to the liquid well enough. The chicken tenders didn’t really provide a lot of fat; they looked like they were gleaned from breast-carving, and there was very little fat to be had… probably a good thing. I mean, adding a ½ stick of butter is pretty rich for my tastes; however rendering it to Ghee removes the unhealthy part according to Wikipedia.
OK, it’s been cooking away to at least 90 minutes, and the level has dropped about an inch. Let’s grab a bowl and I’ll tell you about it! Oh, I can see now I should have cooked up some rice to go with it! Next time…
Wow, considering how much pepper was added, it’s quite mild. It could easily take a Thai or Serrano Pepper. Also, I think the cooking time should be reduced for better texture. Mushrooms seem to take the longest, so maybe add them first along with the carrots and potatoes. The single can of tomato paste really impacts the flavor; I hate to waste product, but if possible, cut that amount in half – unless you like tomato. Maybe it’s just one of those tricks; I learned as a kid that to make the best refried beans, add one or two tsp. of creamy peanut butter. But too much – and the whole batch suddenly tastes like peanut butter instead of refried beans!
It also would taste better over rice; got that now. I can also imagine a variation using green beans and chunky peanut butter instead of tomato and shrimp. Lots of potential here; I’ll have to keep tweaking it. Finally, I’d ditch the broccoli; not the best contribution for this recipe. Otherwise, very rib-stickin’; I’m going to have another bowl!
Bon Appétit,
KF
PS - my dreams last night were quite vivid!
if you're anemic)
