Thai Chicken and Vegetable Curry

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Happy New Year! Dah I can't believe it's 2018. This year, God-willing, I'll be traveling to two amazing exotic destinations, celebrating my 2nd wedding anniversary, turning 28, and hopefully experience a lot of other memorable and positive moments with life, business, and my blog! 

It's only fitting that the first recipe I share with you in the new year is something I've been rather obsessed with eating lately. I first tried a version of this in Oxford, England while studying abroad in college, but for some reason I just wasn't into it. 

Fast forward to last summer and when I gave it another go and fell in love with the flavors. Now order it whenever I see it on the menu. So what dish am I referring to? Well, you saw it in the title so you know. I'm talking about Thai Curry. 

I found this recipe in CookingLight magazine's January/ February 2018 edition. J and I made a few adjustments to fit our tastes and the ingredients we had on hand, but by no means did it distract from the flavor. 

Warning: This recipe is not for the faint of heart. The curry paste packs a LOT OF HEAT! 

Thai Chicken Vegetable Curry

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Ingredients:

  • 2 tsps of olive oil
  • 12 oz. of skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/2 tsp of black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp of kosher salt
  • 2 to 3 cups of peeled and diced sweet potatoes
  • 1 cup of chopped yellow onion
  • 1 cup of chopped red bell pepper
  • 1 Tbsp of minced garlic
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp of Thai red curry paste (I only had green Thai curry paste on hand, so we used that instead)
  • 4 to 5 cups of baby kale
  • 1 cup of light coconut milk, well stirred
  • 1 cup of unsalted chicken stock
  • 2 cups of hot cooked quinoa (We opted for brown rice since J isn't a huge quinoa fan)
  • 3 Tbsps of cilantro (This is only for garnish. Since I'm not a cilantro fan, we left this out.)

Steps:

1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Sprinkle chicken with black pepper and salt; cook, turning to brown on all sides, 5 minutes. Place chicken in a bowl, leaving the leftover oil and chicken juices in the pan.  

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2. Add potatoes, onion, and bell pepper to pan; cook, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in curry paste and kale; cook until kale wilts, about 2 minutes. 

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3. Stir in coconut milk and stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

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4. Return chicken to pan and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

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5. Divide quinoa (or rice) into bowls and top with chicken mixture and cilantro leaves. 

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Again, this curry has a particular kick to it. If you're not one for spicy foods, I would probably avoid making this. J and I, on the other hand, enjoy some spice so this definitely hit the spot. I did try it with both quinoa and rice, and I prefer the rice. It cuts the spiciness a little better and makes for a "fuller" dish.