From Red Ant Cafe- Rowland Heights:
"I seem to like curry a lot these days as seen by my recent posts (here, here)"
...and if that is so, I should definitely write out a curry recipe, right? So, after buying a package of House Vermont Curry (in cube form, not sauce form- with 6 large one inch cubes), I was tempted to make curry.
But of course, how about the protein? I like chicken. So we went to our local Fresh and Easy and got chicken thighs for only 1.19 a pound. That is the same price as Costco! Fresh, never frozen whole chickens are only 92 cents a pound. These prices have remained pretty stable so far...and with prices equal or lower than Costco they are a great deal.
After purchasing the chicken, we prepped the ingredients and cooked. Easy peasy. Even preparing the dish does not take much time, although cutting pieces of chicken and vegetables is not the funnest thing to do in the world. For this version, we also added bell pepper, as it gives a taste that is similar to HK Cafes (here, here). End result? Very similar. If you added coconut milk (less water in place) and more curry cubes you would have the same dish. However, we did marinate the chicken with wine so the taste would be different obviously- but I like the taste of the chicken with the shao xing wine.
Since I cooked so much of the dish I was able to have it for lunch the next day too. El pollo es sabroso con arroz. (bad translation to Spanish on the chicken being delicious with rice)
With such close replications to a restaurant, maybe it is time for me to make curry only at home now. :)
Curry Chicken
serves 4 as a main dish with rice
Ingredients:
3 chicken thighs (with bone optional)
7 baby potatoes
1 medium sized onion (baseball size)
1 jumbo carrot
1 bell pepper (any color)
3 pieces of curry cubes (E.G. House Vermont Curry, use more cubes if you would like. We used half of what the directions told us to.)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons xiao xing wine
1 teaspoon potato starch
1 teaspoon salt and pepper
3 thin slices of ginger
2 1/2 cups of water (or substitute with coconut milk (majority)
Cilantro (garnish)
Directions:
1. Cut the chicken thighs into small bite size pieces. Remove the skin if you would like, or keep it in if you would like chicken skin. If you have bone in chicken thighs you can also use them for the dish- remove the meat from the bone and cook the chicken together with the bone for the curry.
2. Place the chicken thighs into a bowl and add the potato starch, salt and pepper, soy sauce, and xiao xing wine. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Prep the vegetables. Cut the jumbo carrot into coins that are about 1 cm thick, the baby potatoes into quarters, the bell pepper into large cube like pieces, and the onion into quarters. Set aside.
4. On medium heat on a large wok (or pot if you would like), add the chicken and its sauce mix, as well as the ginger inside and let the chicken get a light sear. No oil is necessary. Then add 1/4 of a cup of water and move everything around in small movements with a spatula. Let cook on high heat until the outside does not look pink, and add another 1/4 cup of water.
4. Add the carrot, bell pepper, and potato pieces into the wok and stir everything. Meanwhile, cube the curry cubes into smaller pieces so they will melt faster. Add the curry cubes into the wok and then add 2 cups of water into the wok. Mix everything together and turn the burner to high heat until the curry sauce boils.
5. Add the onions in and turn the burner down to medium heat and cook for another 10 minutes or until the curry sauce has thickened to your liking.
6. Place the curry into a large bowl for serving or just eat it out from the wok with a bowl of rice, or pieces of bread. Enjoy!
Comments
Thanks!