Basil Chicken in Coconut-Curry Sauce

I first made this in December, after looking through my Bridal edition of the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It looked delicious, and since I was craving some kind of coconut curry dish, decided to make it.  Zak and I have made it a few more times; we even made it for his family over the winter holidays. It's a little time-consuming but oh, so worth it. Below is our slightly altered version.

2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I also kind of approximate the amount)
1 Tbl. olive oil
1/2 of a large red (or white) onion, diced
1 serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped (the recipe originally calls for 2 jalapeño peppers, but we didn't want to use those)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 13.5- or 14-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tbl. cornstarch
5-6 Tbl. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbl. snipped fresh basil (about 4 leaves)
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
rice to serve over (maybe 3 cups?)

1. In a medium bowl combine curry powder, black pepper, 1/4 tsp. salt, and chili powder. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Add to spices, toss to coat. Cover and chill for 1 - 2 hours to allow spices to sink in.

2. Pour oil into large skillet or wok (we use our wok, which we love!); heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, pepper and garlic; cook and stir for about 8 minutes (until crisp-tender), then remove from wok. Add half of the chicken and cook for about 4 - 6 minutes (until no longer pink); remove from wok, repeat with remaining chicken.

3. Stir together coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch and 1/4 tsp. salt until smooth. Add to wok, carefully. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Return chicken and onion mixture to wok. Stir in basil and ginger. Cook and stir about 2 minutes, serve over hot rice. *We usually add rice to the wok to mix it all together, it is a good way to soak up the sauce.

Cooked chicken

Chicken and onion mixture

All done!

Ready to be enjoyed :)