Slow Cooker Thai Red Curry Chicken

We love curry, but don't have it often enough.  But I've found a few recipes to try for the next month or two.  This one was really good, and I'm sure we'll make it again.  The chicken thighs were so good and moist, and I loved the coconut milk with the red curry, yum!  It just needed some salt & pepper, and that's it.  We omitted the mushrooms, and personally, I'd like twice the amount of bamboo shoots, because they were awesome.  Delicious!

1/4 c. Thai red curry paste
2 - 2 1/2 lbs. chicken thigh fillets, trimmed & cut in slightly bigger than bite-sized pieces
1 c. chicken broth
2 tsp. oil
1 c. sliced bamboo shoots
1/2 c. fresh shiitake mushrooms, halved (we omitted them)
1 Tbl. brown sugar
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 (14 oz.) coconut milk (we used lite coconut milk)
1/3 c. basil leaves

1.  Heat some oil in a large frying pan on medium high heat.  Cut the chicken up and cook them in batches for 1 - 3 minutes, until sides turn golden.  Season with salt and pepper and transfer to slow cooker.
2.  Turn heat to low and add rest of cooking oil.  Add curry paste and stir for 2 - 3 minutes until it releases a sweet aroma.  Add the chicken broth and stir with the curry until it's all dissolved.  Add mushrooms and bamboo shoots, pour over chicken and stir until well mixed.
3.  Cook on high for 3 - 4 hours OR low for 7 - 8 hours.
4.  Combine coconut milk, fish sauce and brown sugar, stir into cooked mixture and cover.  Cook for 30 more minutes on high.
5.  Stir in basil and serve over rice.

yum!

picture w/flash

Baked Coconut Chicken with Sweet & Spicy Apricot Sauce

I follow this cute blog, Six Sisters' Stuff and they have some good recipes that I've tried in the past few months.  And this one is another new recipe that we are fans of!  We really enjoyed it, the sauce was a great compliment to the chicken.  I decided on using an apricot-pineapple blend instead of just plain apricot, and it was fantastic. Next time I will cook the chicken at a lower temperature, because it didn't turn out as beautifully golden as I wanted; some of the coconut got a little burned.  I ended up not the full amount of the ingredients, so I'll copy what I used here.

Chicken
1 1/2 lb. chicken, cut into strips (about 25 pieces is what I got)
2 eggs
2-3 Tbl. flour
3/4 c. sweetened coconut flakes
3/4 c. panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional, didn't use this time)

Sauce
1/2 c. apricot-pineapple (or just apricot) preserves
1 Tbl. unseasoned rice vinegar
3/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1.  Preheat oven to 425 (original recipe says 450) degrees.  Line baking pan with foil, spray with nonstick spray.
2.  Combine coconut flakes, panko bread crumbs and spices in a medium-sized bowl.
3.  Place flour in one shallow bowl; beat the eggs and place in a different shallow bowl.
4.  Working with one chicken tender/piece, dip in flour, than egg & completely cover with coconut-panko mix.
5.  Once all pieces have been coated and placed on the baking pan, cook for about 15 - 20 minutes, until golden brown.
6.  Combine all the sauce ingredients, place in dipping bowls.

pretty chicken before baking

sauce

the extra coconut I sprinkled over the chicken burned a bit, but I just brushed it off and it was still great

Nutritional Facts for chicken
servings per recipe: 5
amount per serving (about 5 pieces)

Calories: 269
Total Fat: 7.9 g
Saturated Fat: 4.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.8 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 1.4 g
Cholesterol: 152.9 mg
Sodium: 480.1 mg
Potassium: 435.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 12.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.7 g
Sugar: 1.6 g
Protein: 35.7 g
Vitamin A: 3 %
Vitamin C: 3.7 %
Calcium: 2.8 %
Iron: 10.8 % 

Nutritional Facts for sauce
servings per recipe: 8 
amount per serving (2 Tbl.)

Calories: 60
Total Fat: --
Saturated Fat: --
Polyunsaturated Fat: --
Monounsaturated Fat: --
Cholesterol: --
Sodium: 5 mg
Potassium: --
Total Carbohydrate: 14 g
Dietary Fiber: --
Sugar: 9 g
Protein: --
Vitamin A: --
Vitamin C: --Calcium: --
Iron: --

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 :)