Mod Ozzfest 2013 -- Chicken & Kumara (Sweet Potato) Curry

(This recipe accompanies Naked Vine New Year 2013 -- A Taste of Australia.)

• 5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 Tbsp of canola or vegetable oil
• 1 medium white onion, cut into thin slices
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 lemongrass stem, white part only, thinly sliced (although if you use the stuff in a tube, few will notice)
• 2 tsp ground tumeric
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 medium sweet potato (kumara), cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup of chicken broth or white wine
• 2 Tbsp of Thai fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
• A handful of fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Cut the chicken thighs into strips or chunks.

Heat the oil in a wok on a medium-high heat and partially brown the chicken for about 1-2 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add onion to the wok and fry for about 2 minutes or until translucent. Add a little more oil if the wok gets dry. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add the lemongrass and fry for another 30 seconds. Add the tumeric, curry powder and chili powder and fry for 1 minute.

Add the sweet potato (kumara) and sugar. Stir well. Add the coconut milk, broth or wine, fish sauce and cilantro. Stir well to combine and bring to a boil.

Once the curry is boiling add the chicken and then turn the heat down to low and cover. Simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Serve curry on a bed of jasmine or basmati rice and garnish with more cilantro.

Coconutastrophe, Part II (Shrimp Masala)

So, something to do with your newly smashed up coconut? Well, you might consider something along these lines:

SHRIMP MASALA

• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1 2” piece of ginger, chopped
• 1/3 c. of your just drained coconut milk
• 2 bags frozen large shrimp, thawed, peeled, deveined
• 1 (16 oz) bag frozen sliced okra, thawed
• vegetable oil
• shallot, chopped
• 1 serrano pepper, chopped
• 1 tbsp. garam masala
• 1 can coconut milk (you won’t have enough in the coconut)
• 1/2 c. shredded coconut
• 1/2 c. chopped cilantro
• basmati/jasmine rice

Pulse ginger, garlic, and coconut milk in a blender until it’s a paste.

Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Stir-fry shrimp for 3-4 minutes until mostly cooked. Remove shrimp from wok and set aside. Add a little more oil. Stir-fry okra for 2-3 minutes and set aside.

Add a little more oil. Stir-fry shallot & pepper for 1 minute. Add garlic paste and garam masala. Cook for 30 seconds. Add remaining coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Return shrimp to wok. Simmer for 1 minute. Return okra to wok and simmer for 1-2 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, make your rice. Serve masala over and top with cilantro and coconut:

Verdict? Pretty tasty.

That said, As much fun as it is to use household building tools in the kitchen, I’ll probably stick to getting my coconut pre-attacked. Some external labor is worth paying for.

Crepuscule with Monkfish & Chorizo (Monkfish and Chorizo Kabobs)

I've stumped the fish folk at Kroger twice with monkfish.

Both times, I've seen filets that looked pretty good, and the Krogerman handing it to me has said, "I've never known what to do with that." The answer? Grill it. There are any number of ways you can make it, and I've tried several. I remain a fan of the fire.

You'll sometimes see monkfish called "poor man's lobster." (It's also known as "goosefish.") The flavor and consistency is indeed akin. At under $10 a pound, it's worth thinking about for that kind of flavor -- especially when that flavor is paired with that wonderful Latin-esque sausage, chorizo.

Monkfish and chorizo. Like chocolate and peanut butter. Two great tastes that taste great together. There;s something about the richness of the fish with the spice and fat of the chorizo that just works well together. They're great together in things like paella. but grilling them is best, in my opinion. Since we're still in a surprisingly good patch of weather for early March, we fired up the grill again. My favorite way to pair these two has always been kebabs with some good veggies.

We got the grill fired up and got some yellow rice going. This particular kebab iteration required me to pre-cook a few links of chorizo. Put three links in a skillet with ½ cup of water. Cooked them for 12 minutes, turning once, then cooking uncovered, turning as necessary (brown 'em!) for 3-4 minutes. Set the links aside to cool. Cut up the veggies (tomatoes, peppers, & mushrooms in this case, but you can use whatever you like) and monkfish into good sized chunks:

Skewer the veggies, chorizo, and monkfish pieces. It might look something like this:

The grill should be hot by now, so put the kebabs over fire. Medium to high heat, 5-7 minutes on a side. I like using a grill basket, simply for neatness and ease of use. If you do use one of those, cook more towards the longer time. Then plate up a bed of rice, take the chunks off the skewers and arrange. Top the lot with salt and pepper.

We did a side by side of an inexpensive pinot noir (Lurton, a French pinot noir table wine) and Black Box Sauvignon Blanc.

Both wines worked fine. I liked the pinot, the Sweet Partner in Crime enjoyed the white. Either way, a very easy to cobble together, nice looking dinner, if you don't mind doing a little chopping.

Total time start to finish: just under an hour.




The night was young once we finished, so we decided to enjoy the good weather and the patio-friendly temperatures while we could. We started a fire and got rid of the last of the holiday greenery. Poured some more wine and had some chocolate. A nice way to end a fairly crazy day...