I haven’t cooked much more than frozen pizza or chicken nuggets recently because I’ve been so darn busy. I have nothing against frozen food but it certainly gets old. While at work I knew I wanted to cook so I started to brainstorm ideas. My brain went to either a curry chicken dish I had at a noodle shop in Kansas City or a miso glazed salmon I had at a New Years Eve party.
I settled with a curry idea and made a trip to a local Asian grocery for supplies assuming I’d do a coconut milk curry chicken. By the time I got home a friend suggested Panang chicken. It sounded tasty but some quick Googling made me realize I didn’t have the right ingredients. I’d have to improvise.
The problem with improvising is that I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had curry anything. It wasn’t something that I recall as being part of my childhood. I went into the project with almost no reference point of what I should end up with. I was a bit nervous. Usually when I do something new in the kitchen I stick to the script the first time and adjust from there.
I smashed the ingredient list of a few recipes together and then adjusted the amounts as I saw fit. I’m not sure that there is an official name for what I ended up with but it was pretty tasty.
I started with a sauce of peanut butter, red curry paste, soy sauce, lime juice, coconut milk, and a squirt of sriracha. I added some green onions, sautéed chicken, and more coconut milk. While it simmered I put together a curry couscous with even more coconut milk, lemongrass, and shallots. (First time to make couscous as well)
Below is what I ended up with. I’m happy with the flavor and texture I ended up with. The chicken and the couscous were both good; together they formed a single tasty flavor. I think another flavor on the plate would have made the meal better. I also think the plate needed something to add another color. Any suggestions?
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