Wow! We had a -10ºF temp. with a wind chill of -38º overnight! It was definitely the coldest I’ve ever experienced since I’ve been here. We survived the night, thankfully! The house is still intact – the roof did not come down on us despite all the weird noises it was making. :D And most importantly, we still have power. Yay!
Here’s one way you can stay warm in this brutally cold weather – with a delicious, spicy chicken curry! Not to be deceiving, this dish is super easy due to the use of pre-packaged curry mix. Our favorite is Tean’s Gourmet Chicken Curry Paste. Amazingly, we can actually find this mix in our local Asian store. If you can’t find it in yours, it’s also available on AsianSupermarket365.com. And if you prefer to make your curry from scratch, here’s a chicken curry recipe I grew up with. :) The pre-packaged mix definitely saves a lot of prep time, and makes a delicious one-pot meal with hardly any effort at all. Enjoy!
8-10 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (I use frozen without thawing)
About 4 large potatoes (I love Yukon Gold for curries), peeled and cut into 1½” chunks
2 (200g) packets Tean’s Gourmet Chicken Curry Paste
1 cup water
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
1½ pounds veggies (I like green beans or whole okra)*
Salt to taste
*For green beans, I use only fresh (I dislike the taste of frozen) and I keep them whole with the ends trimmed. Before adding them into the curry, I pre-cooked the green beans in a casserole dish in the microwave for 3 to 4 minutes. As for the okra, I usually use frozen without thawing (it’s extremely hard to find fresh okra here) and I would use 2 (16-ounce) packages which makes a total of 2 pounds veggies.
For easier clean-up, lightly oil the inside of the slow cooker. Place chicken, potatoes, curry paste, and water in the slow cooker. Cover and cook until chicken is tender (I would usually stir it once halfway through just to make sure the paste is thoroughly mixed in). If using fresh chicken, that will take 4 to 6 hours on low. Since I use frozen chicken, I set the slow cooker for 3 hours on high and then 2½ hours on low. Of course, you can keep it on low the whole time for frozen chicken as well…it’ll just take longer. (I read somewhere…I think it’s in America’s Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook that chicken should only be cooked on low in a slow cooker to prevent the meat from drying out, which is why I don’t keep the setting on high the whole time). Once chicken is tender, stir in coconut milk and veggies and continue to cook on low for another 30 minutes or until it comes to a boil again. Season with salt to taste and serve curry with rice – with lots of gravy on mine please! :D
I love your slow-cooked curry, Chris! Did you actually add the green beans at the same time as the chicken meat. I asked because they turned out amazing vibrant green and fresh looking. I’m sure the whole meal tasted srumptious! I might make this one weekend, but our winter has not officially started yet! It’s 6 deg C and I hope it’ll stay like this, though I heard it’ll get nasty cold in the coming weeks… :-(
And yes, Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and your family. What’s up in your kitchen :-D
Isadora,
I added the green beans after the chicken was essentially done (I did pre-cooked it slightly in the microwave before adding them into the curry). We have been dealing with super-cold weather here in the States for several weeks now…I am SO ready for spring! Glad to hear you guys are not having it too bad yet…lucky you! :D Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and your family too!!! I haven’t had much time to spend in the kitchen…how about you?
XXXX
Chris