Thai Red Curry Chicken

I'm just going to not talk about my lack of frequent posting today and instead talk about yoga.  Just for a quick change of pace, and because this dinner was eaten at 10 pm so that I could go to yoga before I ate.  I'm lucky the Monkey Scientist grew up in a household where they almost always eat late dinners because this is becoming a more and more frequent occurrence for us, especially since my Tuesday and Thursday yoga classes are at 8.



Like this blog, my yoga journey started in DC.  When I was living in DC for my "intern summer" (my DC readers know what I'm talking about), I was working in a government affairs lobbying office on F Street for a huge IT company.  My family friends have always been huge into yoga, but I'd never been to a real class of my own.  I discovered this amazing yoga studio in Dupont Circle that I would walk to once or twice a week for class.  More importantly, I discovered a yoga teacher who was patient and wise and made me leave with such a sense of calm and happiness that I had never felt in any other type of exercise.  I dragged others to her class with me and enjoyed it all summer long.

I moved back to Michigan at the end of the summer to finish school and tried a yoga class here and there.  In January, I moved back to DC to find that my yoga teacher was off on a long journey that would eventually bring her to settle in Costa Rica.  My yoga studio had been turned into a nail salon (like seemingly many storefronts in DC).  I tried a few other studios, but they were so crowded that I didn't feel the personal centering I had felt before. And then I joined Stroga.



Stroga is meant to bring together strength and yoga.  Instead, I felt like it pulled them apart for me.  When I was going there, there was a big divide between the "strength people" who did group fitness classes and the "yoga people".  We were on different floors and there didn't seem to be a lot of overlap between people taking the different classes.  And so I got really into group fitness.  I learned to love (and hate) kettlebells, medicine balls, and TRX.  And I never ventured down to the yoga floor - in fact I kind of drew away from yoga.  By the time the infamous NY Times article came out, I was done with yoga.  Me and my kettlebells had moved on.

And then I moved to Chicago.  I was dying to join a studio with group fitness classes, like Stroga had been for me in DC.  There is actually a studio that's really similar to Stroga right across the street from my house, but I couldn't justify spending hundreds of dollars per month on a gym membership.  So I joined the regular gym across the street (for less than $40 per month) and tried to bring everything I'd learned at Stroga to my own gym routine.  I saw yoga classes on the schedule, but until I had a big push from my roommate, I had no interest.  But he pushed me, and I'm glad he did.



I am so lucky that yoga at my gym is wonderful.  I've been to what I call "gym yoga" classes at other gyms where they push you and don't correct you, and I think these are the types of injury-laden classes the NY Times was talking about.  Even though one of our weekly classes is yoga sculpt, our wonderful instructors correct me constantly and have pushed me far beyond any limits I felt before.  In fact, my yoga sculpt class is where I am CONSTANTLY being yelled at to plug my shoulders into my back, which has improved my arms stands and head stands tremendously.

So I'm back into yoga.  I feel like I'm getting a lot stronger from it and I'm starting to find that peace of mind back that brought me to love yoga in the first place.  Still, some weeks, I have no interest in going. But others I find myself on the mat three times a week.  For someone who has never been big into working out, that's huge for me.  It makes me earn this curry dish.  With regular coconut milk.



Thai Red Curry Chicken
from Eat, Live, Run

Ingredients:
1 tbsp coconut oil
1″ knob ginger, peeled and grated
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
3 tbsp red curry paste
3 cups coconut milk, light or regular
1 1/2 cups water
2 baby bok choy, chopped
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped snow peas
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and julienned or diced into 1/4″ thick pieces
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp fish sauce
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp salt
cooked rice or quinoa for serving

Instructions
1. In a dutch oven over medium high heat, melt the coconut oil.
2. Add the grated ginger and saute until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.  Don't let it start to brown.
3. Throw in the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is seared on all sides but not cooked through.  Add the curry paste and continue cooking and stirring for 2 minutes.
4. Pour in the water and coconut milk (be sure to shake or stir the coconut milk before adding) along with the bok choy, bell pepper, snow peas, and sweet potatoes.  Bring to a boil.
5.  Once boiling, add the sugar, fish sauce, lime, and salt.  Turn the heat down to medium or low and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Serve over rice or quinoa.

Indian-Spiced Lentils and Lamb

One of the many things I love about the Monkey Scientist is that he's really willing to try just about anything I tell him to eat.  Even if he doesn't like it, he'll at least give it a shot.  I once made him try tripe in a Chinese restaurant (without telling him what it was) and even though he will never try it again, the fact that he did made me smile.  Case in point was this meal - I told my Mom I was making Indian lentils and lamb for dinner and she said "oh, interesting" (which in our family means "please don't expect me to be eating that").  The Monkey Scientist, on the other hand, was excited!  It makes cooking for him so much fun!



Despite this recipe not being my usual style of cooking, I knew this would be a recipe we'd like because of the spice factor.  Curry powder + cayenne + jalapeno is a spicy combo.  Right up our alleys.  Fortunately for me, the greek yogurt cools the palate back down.  Also, by serving this on top of rice, it made the whole dish a lot more mild - definitely something I'd recommend if the spiciness scares you (and to add more substance to the whole dish).



I liked that this recipe was fairly low-cost.  Although lamb can be expensive, you don't need that much of it in this meal.  Lentils are one of my favorite money savers because they are filling and tasty, but only cost about 89 cents/bag (which is enough to make this recipe 2-3 times!).  My biggest cost-grief is the coconut milk.  My grocery store only has 1 brand and its nearly $4/can.  Do you know where I can buy it cheaper (and maybe in half cans)?



This was one of my favorite low cost, healthy recipes I've made in a long time.  Bold flavors do so much to make up for lower fat content in dinners.  The spicy flavor combined with the sweetness of the coconut milk and tomatoes elevated inexpensive lentils.  The little bit of lamb brought an otherwise vegetarian dish to an new level - but could be left out if you wanted to keep it vegetarian.  The tang of the Greek yogurt was the perfect finishing touch.  The color of the whole dish is gorgeous from the curry powder, tomatoes, and coconut milk.  We both loved this one!



Indian-Spiced Lentils and Lamb
slightly adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 lb lean ground lamb
1 teaspoon red curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 jalapeño pepper, chopped and seeds removed
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 cup brown lentils
2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
3/4 cup light coconut milk
1 (15-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped (I actually added the juice too)
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (2% or fat free)
white rice, cooked (optional)

Instructions
1. In a large, deep skillet, heat oil over medium high heat then add lamb, curry powder, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper, and cook for 2-3 minutes until it starts to brown.
2. Add onion and jalapeno and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes until the lamb is fully browned and the onions are soft.
3. Add the garlic and cook 1-2 minute more until fragrant.
4. Add tomato paste, cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
5. Add lentils, cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
5. Add chicken broth, water, coconut milk, and tomatoes and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer. Cover and allow to simmer for 40 minutes or until lentils are tender.
6. Serve either in a bowl or over white rice and top with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Chicken Massaman Curry [Guest Chef]

photo by Amanda Farr

I've been busy going to happy hours and Red Sox/Orioles games, so I haven't been cooking too much this week. However, I couldn't leave you hungry.  I'm going to welcome back my coworker, Amanda, who tested this recipe and took some photos to share with you today.

photo by Amanda Farr

Massaman Curry is my absolute favorite dish to get at a Thai restaurant... the only thing I probably order more often is Pad Thai.  We usually order beef, but lately I've been wanting to cut down on my red meat intake.  Massaman Curry is complemented by sweet and delicious coconut milk. You can't go wrong with coconut milk.

photo by Amanda Farr

There definitely are some unusual ingredients here so you may need to take a trip to the Asian market.  If you're buying fish sauce, BUY SQUID BRAND. It's the best I've ever used, and I have most frequently bought it at Asian markets.  I have to admit though, Amanda used some really good looking brand, so that might be better.  Either way, don't sniff the fish sauce... it smells terrible but it blends with all of the other ingredients to create the most amazing flavors.

photo by Amanda Farr

Amanda did make some adjustments from the original recipe.  I know when I make this, I'll probably use ground cardamom out of laziness.  If you use whole, and for the star anise, make sure you take them out when you're done making it.  Amanda almost broke a tooth at lunch the other day when there was a star anise left in the curry.

Photo by Amanda Farr

I really want to try this one myself.  Amanda really enjoyed it, and it looked scrumptious.  You can serve it up with a big side of jasmine or sticky rice... perfection.

Photo by Amanda Farr

Chicken Massaman Curry
adapted from the very hungry cook

Ingredients
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 tbsp massaman curry paste
8 whole cardamom seeds, crushed with the side of a knife and your palm
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 star anise
1 onion
1 can coconut milk
1 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
3-4 tbsp roasted, unsalted peanuts
2 tbsp peanut oil

Instructions
1. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces
2. Add 1 tbsp of oil and the massaman curry paste to the chicken.  Mix well, set aside to marinate.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the pan.  Once the oil is hot, fry the cinnamon, cardamom and star anise for 30 seconds.  Add the onion and fry until golden brown.
4. Add the chicken and turn to low.  Let cook 3-5 min.
5. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce, water, potatoes and peanuts.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 30 min or until potatoes and chicken are cooked through.  If needed, remove the lid and cook until the curry reaches desired thickness.  Check seasoning and then remove the pan from the flame.
6. Stir in the tamarind paste and brown sugar.  Serve hot with jasmine rice.

Chicken Vindaloo

Now that I'm back in the District, I can finally start cooking again!  This week, I wanted to try something new and different.  Last summer, several of our colleagues who work in our Chennai office were visiting for a couple of months.  My office used this as an opportunity to get them to cook us an authentic Indian meal by holding an "International Potluck".

At the time, our colleagues were living in extended stay hotels, so they didn't exactly have world class kitchens.  That did not stop them - the food they brought in was incredible!  It has really encouraged me to want to try Indian cooking.

I briefly mentioned that I made Chicken Tikka Masala a few weeks ago and loved it.  My coworker actually tried the same recipe this week, but didn't think it tasted authentic.  Still, I enjoyed it.  However, this time I wanted to step up the spice level.  Vindaloo is supposed to be very spicy, and this recipe looked like it was going to meet our heat palates.

Unfortunately, and maybe it was the type of chiles that I used, this ended up looking a lot spicier than it tasted.  The original recipe also called for WAY more cumin than it needed, so I cut it down in the recipe below.  What was amazing about this recipe is that I felt like there was almost no liquid when I added the spices, yet a paste formed as the chicken cooked in the last step.  It was pretty spectacular.

And, as long as we're talking spices, I (of course) have a money saving tip.  I didn't have any cardamom and at my local grocery store a jar (whole or ground) was $14.99 (!!).  Instead, I took a long walk to World Market, where it was only $2.99.  Also, the original recipe calls for grinding your own spices, which I'm sure is great, but I just used the ground as noted below.  For the chile paste, I ground it using my immersion blender, which worked but a food processor would have better.

If you enjoy Indian cuisine, definitely give this one a shot.  For me, I'm going to try to go to an Indian grocery store next time to buy my spices, and maybe get some tips from my Chennai colleagues.  This wasn't the best recipe I've ever made, but by adjusting the amount of cumin and using high quality spices, I think it could be a winner.

Chicken Vindaloo

adjusted slightly from Steamy Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb chicken thighs (cut into cubes)

1 cup diced onions

4-5 whole red chilies

6-7 cloves of garlic

1 inch ginger

¼ cup white wine vinegar (add more if you like)

For dry spice mix:

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon cinammon powder

1/2 tablespoon freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds

2 cups diced potatoes (optional)

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

Instructions:

1) Soak whole chilies, garlic cloves and ginger in the white wine vinegar for about half an hour. Grind and make a paste of it.

2) Marinate chicken in the chili paste and let it sit in a refrigerator for at least an hour.

3) Mix cloves, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric and peppercorn. Set aside.

4) Heat oil in a thick bottom pan, add mustard seeds.

5) Once they start to pop, add onions and fry them in oil until they turn light golden brown.

6) Add marinated chicken with all the juices and stir fry for a few minutes.

7) Add dry spices along with salt, mix it all together and cover the pan with a lid.

8) Let it simmer and cook until the chicken is done and curry is thick (stirring in between from time to time).

9) Serve hot with rice or naan.