Carolina in the Kitchen

I've never been much of a cook... To give you some reference, I was known to start more than a few small kitchen fires and I used to make quesadillas in the toaster. Well... I would attempt to make quesadillas in the toaster... I bet the kitchen fires are making a lot more sense now, eh? Despite my (major) lack of skill, though, I really, really, really like watching the Food Network. It started in college when I would listen to the Barefoot Contessa's soothing voice to decompress from all the stress of finals. But the more I watched it, the more tips and tricks I picked up without even realizing it! The first recipe I made was a very simple bruschetta (requiring no stove OR oven use!) and it went so well, that it gave me confidence to try other recipes!

The recipe I'm sharing today is surprisingly not from the Food Network... It's actually not from anywhere and it took me two tries to get it juuuuust right. :) I absolutely LOVE Thai food. It is my ultimate comfort food and guilty pleasure (when I eat a big bowl of it in bed while watching Vampire Diaries after one too many G&Ts the night before). The thing is though, I'm a bit of a "plain" eater. I love red chicken curry with rice, but not all those weird bamboo shoots/ bean sprouts/ tofu/ other various veggies that they put all up in it. So I decided to give it a go and make my own version! Here's how I did it...

What You'll Need:

• 1 can of Coconut Milk
• Red curry paste
• Rice (I like white, but I know brown is all the rage these days)
• Half of a big yellow onion
• 2 chicken breasts
• Some brown sugar
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Cayenne peppa'
• Olive oil
• Salt

**Makes two servings - One for lunch and one for din? Or maybe one for you and one for him :)

Start by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees. Then move on to the rice... Shake and open the can of coconut milk. One can is 400 ml... I like to use about 150ml for the rice and the rest for the curry, but it's up to you how you want to divvy it up. I cook the rice using a 1:1 ratio of coconut milk and water. I also season the milk/water mixture with a good shake of onion powder, garlic powder and some salt. Then just cook it like regular rice! Easy, peasy.

At this point the oven should be ready. I like to chop up the chicken before cooking it, it just seems easier. I chop it up and then throw it in a bowl and season it with some olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder and salt. I mix it around so each little piece is evenly coated (don't leave anyone out!) and then pop it in the oven until just done... around 9ish minutes.

Now to the best part - the curry! Start off by chopping up your onions and garlic as finely as you can. 

Heat up some olive oil in a saute pan and then toss in the onions. Give them a good head start before you toss in the garlic on top. 

When the onions and garlic are soft, add the curry paste. I used about 3 big spoonfuls to get my bright orange color (and yummy flavor!). 

Now add the remaining coconut milk!

Mix everything well until the curry paste is evenly distributed...

Then sprinkle a little cayenne pepper and toss in a big spoonful of brown sugar...

Mix it all and cover, making sure you're on medium/medium-low heat. Find a way to kill a few minutes until the chicken is done (a.k.a. pour yourself a glass of vino). When the chicken is ready, mix it in with the curry and cover. Bring to a boil for about 30 seconds...

After it's come to a boil, take it off the heat et voila! You are done! Serve over the coconut rice and enjoy!

It is truly divine. So easy, and SO yummy!!

Bon apetite! xo