Make This If You Like Your Family Even a Little Bit

"Please don't experiment on our guests," Jeff requested earlier this week.

You see, I have a tendency to make brand new recipes when people come over for dinner. Sometimes it works out fine and other times...well, there were those turkey legs for which I didn't have a big enough pot so the ends stuck up into the air while the meaty parts were boiling in a bunch of water on the stove top. Those were pretty scary...and possibly dangerous...and definitely embarrassing.

And then there was the pumpkin cake which I had never made before, but the reason that was disastrous wasn't because of the recipe itself but simply because I forgot to add the sugar. I didn't realize it until after I had served everyone and then taken a bite of my own portion.  

Ick.

(FYI: Sprinkling sugar over the top doesn't exactly remedy the situation.)

But this week, I found a recipe for a chicken curry that I was anxious to try out. Last night was the night.

It is so good! Our soon-to-arrive guests will wish I'd experimented on them!

Here you go:

Curried Coconut Chicken

six chicken thighs, trimmed of skin and fat, baked and diced
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 1/2 tablespoons curry paste*
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
14 oz. can coconut milk
14 oz. can diced fire roasted tomatoes, drained
8 oz. tomato sauce
3 tablespoons sugar (white, brown or palm)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fish sauce**
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium low heat. Stir in curry paste. Cook for about five minutes. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is transparent, about 7 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, salt, fish sauce, onion powder and chicken pieces. Lower heat a bit. Simmer for about ten minutes until everything is heated through. Serve over cooked basmati rice.

*This is the curry paste I use:

I have a wimpy-white-girl-mouth so I was happy to find this paste because it has all the flavor without the pain.

**Fish sauce is by far the foulest smelling ingredient I have in my kitchen. (It smells like unwashed body parts. Which parts, I will not detail.) In fact, I've contemplated storing it out in the garage in case the bottle leaks and we have to call in a HazMat team. However, the vileness magically transforms into Thai authenticity once it's cooked for a while. It's a culinary miracle of sorts. If you don't want to house a bottle of this stuff in your home, just omit it from the recipe and up the salt to 3/4 of a teaspoon.

Anyway, my whole family loved this served with some Thai green beans on the side. I had a bit of it for breakfast this morning and I think it tasted even better as is often the case with sauces that are allowed to sit in the fridge and meld overnight. Don't underestimate the power of melding.

Enjoy!