Hey Hive!
We're back with more of our home cooking! If you're unfamiliar with this series, it's where I showcase some of the food we've been making at home since we've been cooking a lot nowadays! Both because it's cheaper and also healthier to cook for yourself compared to eating out.
While I usually stick to the usual recipes I do like to try new ones once in a while and figured I'd share the new ones I've tried once a month so here we go!
Sean really likes curry chicken and last time we were in the supermarket we bought a few different curry paste packets to try and to be honest they've been sitting there for a while so I thought I'd try it again.
This was the curry paste packet I wanted to try. It's a nonya style curry, but generally it's the same as other chicken curries we've tried.
Here's the instructions on the back of the packet. It seems pretty simple. I know some people will frown upon using these packages since it's mostly processed and I know it's a lot better to make stuff from scratch, but I'm just an average cook. That's why this series is called TacoCat (kinda) Cooks!
Here are the ingredients I used:
- 3 potatoes
- 3 lady fingers
- spinach
- frozen chicken strips (defrosted)
- coconut milk
- vegetable oil
- curry paste
- carrots and broccoli (for the rice)
We'd also be making a side of rice to go along with the curry of course. I made my usual rice with vegetables to pair with the curry, and while the rice was cooking I prepared the curry.
Step 1: Wash and cut the veggies.
Step 2: Wash and cut the potatoes into cubes. I kept the cubes a little smaller so the potato would soften faster while boiling.
Step 3: Cut the chicken strips into cubes.
Step 4: Set the ingredients aside and boil a pot of water.
Step 5: Dump the veggies into the boiling water to soften them up.
Step 6: After a few minutes, pour the potatoes into the boiling pot as well. I learned from last time that the potatoes get mushy if I boiled them too long with the veggies, so I put them in later and boil less since they'll be boiling in the curry later as well.
Step 7: Once the potatoes are softened a little bit, drain the pot and set the veggies and potatoes aside. Then following the instructions on the packet, we need to heat oil on medium-low heat and stir fry the spice paste. I just used the same pot so there'd be less washing.
Step 8: Stir fry the spice paste for 30 seconds or so. This is what the spice paste looks like and tbh I thought it looked a little small especially since they said it would serve 4 people.
Step 9: Add chicken, potatoes and veggies to the pot and stir fry for 3 minutes. I hoped that the heat from the veggies would also cook the chicken since it was still raw but we would be boiling it later as well so no worries.
After stir-frying until everything was well incorporated and mixed, it looked like this and still pretty dry. I'm not sure if I added too much ingredients or the spice pack was just too small.
Step 10: Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.
Step 11: We need to simmer it for about 20 minutes uncovered or until chicken is fully cooked. So I let it simmer for a while.
Unfortunately I think the amount of veggies I put in changed the colour of the curry drastically. I didn't think it would have such an effect but the entire colour changed and it was now green instead of red like the packet showed.
I did leave it simmering for a while, stirring occasionally and after about 15 minutes it still looked the same. I felt like I got scammed by the packet but I guess it's my fault for adding all those veggies. I wanted to be healthy though so oh well.
Expectation vs Reality?
The curry paste was quite thick as well I think because of the coconut milk. After I checked the chicken was cooked, it was time to serve! Sean said he didn't mind the colour as long as it tasted good anyway.
We served the curry alongside our rice with carrots, broccoli and mushrooms and it smelled pretty good!
And surprisingly it did taste really yummy too! I still felt like I was fooled into thinking it was supposed to be red. But truthfully it wasn't too red to begin with either, and there wasn't a lot of the paste anyway.
Unfortunately it's not the most appetising to look at, but it did taste really good. The spice was just right and not too spicy but still very flavourful. The veggies basically disintegreated into the curry but it still tasted good and the chicken was cooked just right and wasn't too dry either.
The potatoes still held their shape and wasn't too mushy either. All in all apart from the colour I'd say this curry was a success! Sean ate it up so quick it was gone in about 15 minutes!
Overall, I'd say this curry was worth it and I think we'll be trying more next time for sure! Sean and I agreed this beat the other curry paste we tried previously because that was a little too spicy. While this one is very mild in comparison I could do with just a little more spiciness but it was really delicious all the same!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
Check out my previous post in this series!
Posted via foodiesunite.net