Thai Coconut Curry

I am a huge fan of curry. Comes with being a fan of spicy food I guess. Thai curries tend to be slightly creamier, and less spicy (although often no less hot, due to the addition of chilies) than Indian curries. This version uses green curry and coconut milk to form the base of the sauce.

-=Thai Coconut Curry=-

2 Chicken Breasts
1 head Broccoli
1 14 oz can Coconut Milk
Green Curry Paste
1/2 cup Cashews (Peanuts are fine if you don't have cashews)
1/2 cup - 1 cup Basmati Rice
Salt
Pepper
Paprika

In a large skillet, start heating the coconut milk on low heat. Start by adding 1-2 tbsp curry paste and stir until even. Check the taste of the sauce, adding more curry as desired (I ended up using the whole 4 oz jar). Add salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. Cut the broccoli into bite sized florets, and cut the chicken into small cubes. Turn the heat up to medium and add the chicken. At the same time, start a pot to the rice. After about 5-10 minutes, turn the chicken. Add the broccoli and cashews. When the chicken is fully cooked and the broccoli is tender, serve the curry over the rice.

Total time: 30-40 minutes
Yield: 2-3 dinners

Optional additions include onions, potatoes, green peppers, lemongrass, Thai chili peppers, and fresh basil. If you find that the curry sauce is too liquid, make a mixture of some starch and cold water and add it to the curry (if you dump starch directly into the hot sauce, it will clump and cook like dough instead of dissolving and thickening the sauce). Cornstarch is the more common choice, although tapioca flour makes a good and flavorful alternative.

Fish n Chips (n some other stuff too)

Sorry for the hiatus guys, it's been a real busy couple of weeks, and I've (finally) got some breathing room. Since today is Friday, figured I'd go with a classic Friday dinner - fish fry. This one's real basic, although if you've never fried stuff before it could be a bit of an adventure. I know I rarely do, since it uses a lot of oil, and the cleanup can be a bit messy, but every now and then, it can make for a heck of a delicious meal. Although I'd actually avoid the chips. For whatever reason, they never turn out right lol.

-=Fish Fry=-

=Batter=
1 egg
~4-8 tbsp Milk
1/6-1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Beat the egg and milk together, then slowly mix in the flour until the batter is the consistency of pancake mix. Add in the bread crumbs and stir until even. For a more tropical flavor, try using coconut flakes and tempura batter.

=Fish Fry=
1 Fish Fillet
1 Onion

Cut the onion into thin slices, then pop out the rings. Pour about 1/2 inch of oil into a deep skillet and heat on high. Since oil doesn't boil, you can test if it's ready by sticking the end of a wooden chopstick into the oil - if it fizzes, it's ready. If you don't own any chopsticks (get some, they're awesome for cooking), you can drop a bit of the batter in to test the oil, although be careful not to let it spatter too much. Once the oil is heated, coat the fish and onion rings, and start frying them. I suggest starting with the rings, and keep them spaced out so they don't stick together. They fry pretty quickly, so give em about 10 seconds or so, then flip them over, before taking them out of the pan. It's hard to say how long it takes, so just go by eye. It's okay if they turn out a bit dark, and the more you fry, the darker the oil gets anyways. The fish will naturally take the longest, so make sure it was fully defrosted before frying, or else the batter will burn before the fish is cooked. When everything is done, shake some salt over it, add a bit of lemon, and you're done.

For dessert, you can try this very simple recipe. Simply take a hamburger bun, coat it in any leftover batter you might have, and fry it. Add some powdered sugar and cinnamon for a delicious treat quite similar to carnival style fried dough.