CHICKEN COCONUT CURRY
Hello!
Last week I hosted my Healthy Cooking Group for dinner at my home. We get together once a month for a healthy dinner and a discussion about ways that we can be healthier cooks. The hostess chooses the theme and everyone brings a dish relative to the theme. They also come prepared to discuss their recipe and share it with everyone. I have been hearing quite a lot lately about “Clean Eating”, so I decided on “Clean Eating” as my theme. I had first heard about Clean Eating on Gwyneth Paltrow’s website GOOP.
Then I read an article about Clean Eating on a website called well + GOOD where they listed 15 must-have staples of a Clean Kitchen. You can read the list here. I asked each of my healthy cooking girlfriends to bring a dish using one of the 15 items on the list. The list comes from a book written by Dr. Alejandro Junger, MD called “Clean Eats”. I was intrigued, so I bought the book and set about educating myself about clean eating.
In a nutshell it is basically the preparation and consumption of fresh, whole, unprocessed, organic foods without dyes, preservatives, sweeteners and other chemicals and additives. And, it advocates for the consumption of healthy fats and whole grains. I think it makes a great deal of sense! Dr. Junger is also an advocate of the elimination of dairy and gluten in our diets (admittedly, I’m not there yet).
As the hostess I prepared the Main Course. In perusing Dr. Junger’s book, I happened upon a recipe for Chicken Coconut Curry that sounded delicious so I decided to prepare it for my Healthy Cooking dinner.
It fit the bill because “coconut milk”, one of the 15 must-have staples of a clean kitchen, was a primary ingredient. It turned out to be delicious and was enjoyed by my girlfriends.
Many of the recipes in the book were contributed by others, and in this case the Chicken Coconut Curry recipe was from Amy Myers, M.D. However, I always have to make a recipe my own so here is the recipe for Chicken Coconut Curry with a few of my own modifications.
Here is how I made it.
Start by heating 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a large pot.
Dice 1 medium onion and add it to the hot oil in the pot.
Next, add 2 stalks of diced celery…
and 3 minced garlic cloves to the pot.
Saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender and translucent.
Next comes the spices. Did you know that Curry Powder is not a spice in-and-of-itself, but is rather, a mixture of spices of widely varying composition? It is typically a combination of Coriander, Turmeric, Ginger and Cumin. So for this recipe we will add the following spices to make our curry powder. Plus I added cornstarch to thicken the sauce.
- 1/2 t. Onion Powder
- 1/2 t. Ground Turmeric
- 1 T. Ground Coriander
- 1/2 t. Ground Cumin
- 1/2 t. Ground Ginger
- 1-1/2 t. Sea Salt
- 1 T. + 1 t. Cornstarch
Dr. Junger suggests that if one chooses to consume meat, it should be pasture raised, humanely raised and organic. So, for this Clean Eating, Chicken Coconut Curry recipe I purchased organic, free-range, boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
Dice 8 chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and add it to the sauteed vegetables.
Saute until the chicken is fully cooked.
Next, peel and cut 1, medium sized yam or sweet potato into 1/2″ cubes and add it to the pot.
Stir in two, 13.5 ounce cans of full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk.
Cover the pot and simmer until the yams are tender.
The final ingredient is 1/2 cup diced green onions, white and green parts.
Add the green onions to the pot and cook over low heat for another 2 minutes.
I served my Chicken Coconut Curry over brown rice. The brown rice takes up to 45 minutes to cook, so keep this in mind, as you may wish to cook the rice simultaneously with the curry. Garnish with additional diced green onions and serve.
So there you have it: Chicken Coconut Curry.
ENJOY!
- 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion, Diced
- 2 Stalks Celery, Diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
- ½ t. Onion Powder
- ½ t. Ground Turmeric
- 1 T. Ground Coriander
- ½ t. Ground Cumin
- ½ t. Ground Ginger
- 1-1/2 t. Sea Salt
- 1 T. + 1 t. Cornstarch
- 8 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs, Cut Into Bite-Sized Pieces
- 1 Medium Sized Yam or Sweet Potato, Cut Into ½" Cubes
- 2 - 13.5 Ounce Cans Full-fat, Unsweetened Coconut Milk
- ½ Cup Diced Green Onions (White & Green Parts) Plus More for Garnish
- Heat extra virgin olive oil in large pot.
- Add onions, celery and garlic and cook until onion is tender and translucent.
- Add the Onion Powder, Ground Turmeric, Ground Coriander, Ground Cumin, Ground Ginger, Sea Salt and Cornstarch to the pot and stir to combine.
- Add the diced chicken to the vegetables and saute until fully cooked.
- Add the sweet potatoes and coconut milk and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender.
- Add greens onions and simmer another 2 minutes.
- Serve over brown rice.
- Garnish with diced green onions.
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PS – The folks at Coastal Range Organics, Geisha, Dr. Junger’s and well + GOOD don’t know me. I just like sharing things I like.
