Try Something New: Week Eleven

For week eleven I made another recipe by Chef John from Food Wishes Video Recipes.

 

We tried Chef John's Peanut Curry Chicken. The ingredients and instructional video can be found here: at Food wishes.blogspot.com. The full recipe with written instructions can be read and/or printed off here: at allrecipes.com.

This was my first real experience making a curry.

The processes was relatively straight forward and easy to understand and follow, especially after watching the instructional video.

This was a delicious meal! The sauce was creamy and rich, with a slight tang and sweetness. I liked the vegetable combination; onion, zucchini, and peppers. The vegetables were tender but, not over cooked. 

I deviated from the spice blend specified in the recipe because I could not find ground coriander. Instead of using 2 tsp. of ground coriander, 2 tsp. of ground cumin, and 1 tsp. of ground turmeric, I used 5 tsp. of a generic curry spice blend. It still turned out with a very pleasurable and full bodied flavor.

I was out of natural unsweetened peanut butter which is what the recipe called for. I used conventional supermarket peanut butter instead and eliminated the brown sugar in the recipe due to the sweetness of the peanut butter.

The other thing I didn't do that the recipe suggests was garnish with fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro. Not that I think those things would be bad, but that I generally don't and didn't at the time have those ingredients on hand.

Peanut Curry Chicken (My Rendition)

1 Tbs. salt
5 tsp. curry spice blend
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne
2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbs. finely grated ginger
6 garlic cloves, minced  
1/2 cup ketchup
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
about 3 1/2 cups chicken broth, depending on desired thickness
1 pound zucchini, cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper, cubed
1 green poblanp pepper, diced
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
serve on rice
garnish with Fresh Lime, Cilantro, and Peanuts   

1. Mix salt, curry, paprika, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl.
2. Place chicken pieces in a separate bowl and add 1/2 of the spice blend. Mix together thoroughly to coat each surface with spice blend.
3. Heat oil over high heat in a heavy pot. Brown half of the chicken pieces on all sides. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add onion to pot. Saute until onions start to turn translucent and golden, 1 or 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; cook about 1 minute. Stir in remaining spice blend; cook and stir one minute. Pour in chicken broth. Add browned chicken along with accumulated juices. Stir in peanut butter and ketchup. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to maintain a gentle, steady simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
5. Transfer zucchini, red bell pepper, poblano pepper, and peanuts to the pot. Stir to mix. Continue simmering until chicken and vegetables are fork tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat.
6. Serve over rice with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of peanuts and chopped cilantro.