Red Curry Tilapia

I've been trying to cook more fish recently because well, it's tasty and good for you!  Sadly, I just now realized that my fish cooking includes salmon and yes, more salmon.  I bought a bag of tilapia fillets a few weeks ago so this night was a good night to venture out.  This fish is a good starter since it's fairly easy to cook, mild in flavor and you can basically add anything to it for a tasty, tasty meal. 

My brother gave me a huge book of asian cooking and there was a recipe for fish with coconut.  Perfect!  Granted, in  my quest to cook healthier...curry probably isn't the best way to go. 

Red Curry Tilapia

Serves 3

2 tbsp veg. oil
3 tilapia fillets (you can use another mild fish like cod)
5 tbsp flour
1 garlic clove, minched
2 tbsp red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
2 tomatos, cubed (or in my case, 1 can whole tomatoes chopped)
10 fresh basil leaves
white rice to eat with the curry
S&P
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp fish sauce

1. Clean and wash the fillet and cut into cubes.  Dry with a paper towel.  Put the flour into a plate, mix in salt and pepper and the garlic powder.  Coat the fish cubes in the flour.

2. In a hot pan, cook the coated fish and stir-fry for a good 4-5 minute until they brown and are almost cooked all the way through.

3. In a small bowl, mix the coconut milk, garlic, curry paste and fish sauce.  Pour the mixture over the fish and bring to a boil.  Next, add in the tomatoes and a little of the tomato sauce from the can.  Turn it to medium and just let it cook for a little bit longer.

4. Chopped the basil and add it to the mixture.  Give it a taste test and see if it needs more curry, fish sauce or salt/pepper.

5. Serve with rice and enjoy!

Chicken Curry Pioneer Style

I follow a number of blogs that talk design, fashion, food, cooking, photography or pets.  I was recently introduced to Pioneer Woman, laughed out loud reading the most recent post and then ended up reading her archived blog posts for the next 30 minutes.  To shed light on her killer following, some of her posts will have 20,000+ comments.  She has several sections including confessions, cooking, home & garden, and photography.  Hello, sister!  That's my blog roll all in one.  I purposely don't read her blog every day so that when I do, I'll have several posts to catch up on.  I don't know why that gives me that little extra pleasure but it simply does.  Ha! 

Anyways, if you haven't read her blog, you need to.  She has this hilarious sense of humor and she couples everything with photos.  Two of my favorite posts include the one about Charlie and the one about her college handbook for her sister.    

She has a new cookbook as well, which will probably be on my next bookstore run.  On her blog, she featured an easy chicken curry recipe from her friend, Tom.  It definitely was easy!  I actually loved the flavor, extra punch and depth provided by the onions, tomatoes and garlic.  This was so good that my mom asked for the recipe and even made it herself!  What was even better, this was a one pot dinner. 

Beware, if you don't have a good kitchen ventilation system, your house and everything else - including your pets - will smell oh so, curry.  Don't think that it will only last a few days.  Nope, I had a curry smell in my house for a week and even after that was gone, my Sasha smelled like curry for two more weeks.  Poor girl. 

One Pot Chicken Curry
Recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman
Serves 4

6 chicken thighs
1 tsp mustard
1 onion, chopped and separate into two equal portions
2 tomatos, chopped
8 cloves garlic, chopped
Handful of cilantro, chopped
3 tbsp yellow curry powder
1 3/4 cup water
1 cup chicken stock
4 tbsp veg. oil
S&P

1. Wash and pat dry chicken thighs. Put in a large bowl and sprinkle with S&P.  Then add in the mustard and mix well.  Chopped up the garlic, tomato, 1/2 onion and cilantro.  Add to the bowl and mix around so that the chicken is thoroughly mixed and covered.  I let it sit in the fridge for an hour.

2. If you want to serve this with rice, would start cooking the rice now.

3. In a small bowl, combine the water and curry powder and mix well.  In a pan on medium high heat, add the veg. oil and the curry water mixture.  Once mixture has reduced down slightly, add in the other 1/2 onion and let them cook for about 3-5 minutes.  If it gets to be too dry, add in a little bit of water.  

4. Now add in the chicken along with the marinade mixture.  I put all the chicken in and then flip each one to make sure each side is coated with the curry mixture.  I let it sit and cook for about 5 minutes covered.

5. Flip the chicken again if you need.  Now add in 1 cup of water and 1 cup of chicken stock.  I let it cook covered for another 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  Halfway through, I spooned the sauce over the tops of all the chicken. 

6. Cut through a chicken to make sure it's cooked all the way.  Then server with hot rice with a big spoonful of the sauce (for the chicken AND the rice).  Enjoy!