Ask Me If I Curr(y)
If you know me even a little bit, you know that I typically give zero forks. It takes a lot to get me interested – typically, nothing short of a baby animal riding on the back of another animal works. I guess food occasionally piques my interest as well.
"Ask me if I curr."
"Do you curr?"
"I don't curr."
-- a frequent exchange between myself and the world
The thing that nobody tells you about not caring is that it can sometimes be a lot of work. Once you have an image to maintain, you can't let anyone see your secret, teddy bear insides. For example, this chicken kebab recipe I made got me totally hype but I didn't want to let anyone know I was so pleased with myself.
But it's SUCH A GOOD RECIPE oh my god. It was so easy, and so good, and it looked so pretty. And then I paired it with some gingery snow peas, arguably one of my top five favorite vegetables and I was totally transported. I guess I cared. Damn.
This recipe calls for red curry paste which you can easily find at the grocery store in the Asian foods aisle. You won't need the whole jar for this recipe but it keeps in the fridge and you can use it as a spice rub on other meats or stir it into soups, etc. It's very versatile and very delicious. The paste itself isn't at all spicy so I added crushed reds to the marinade. You can do this or not; I'm the only one in my family who likes white-knuckling the table while chowing down on some fiery eats.
If you use wooden skewers for this, make sure to soak them in water for about 30 minutes before you stick your skewers in the oven or they'll light on fire. Don't do that. That would be a mess.
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
1 lb. chicken, cubed in 1-inch pieces
1/2 c. coconut milk
3 tbs. red curry paste
1/2 tsp. crushed reds (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
For the snow peas:
1/2 lb. snow peas, rinsed and trimmed of ends
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs. ginger, minced
Sesame oil or a neutral flavored oil, not olive oil
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix the coconut milk, curry paste, crushed reds and salt. Add the chicken and stir well to coat all the pieces. Let marinate for 30 minutes to an hour in the refrigerator.
2. Remove the chicken from marinade. Thread chicken pieces on skewers, leaving ample space in between the pieces. Broil on high for about 3 - 4 minutes on each side.
3. While the chicken is broiling, heat a medium saucepan until the water sizzles when it touches the surface. Heat sesame oil and coat the pan. Add the garlic and ginger and sautee until they begin to soften. Add the snow peas and sautee until the snow peas are tender and bright green, about 4 minutes.
4. Serve with basmati or jasmine rice.
