Week 31 - Coconut

I love coconut. I love it in savory and sweet dishes, and I love how it's a great substitute for dairy (thanks, lactose intolerance), but that made it really hard to choose something to make for coconut week. The first recipe I picked out was for vegan macaroons, next I thought about mango sticky rice, but then I decided to make something savory, choosing a coconut milk adobo. After changing my mind so many times over a couple of weeks, what I ended up making for the challenge was coconut curry chicken. We had rotisserie chicken to use up after one of our meal plan days fell through (our sour cream was topped with some weird red liquid after we opened it), and I stumbled upon a delicious-sounding recipe on Taste and Tell that we had all the ingredients for, so it just made sense. Plus, it didn't just use coconut milk, but also shredded coconut, so it was even more coconut-y than the adobo would have been.

How much it cost (with estimated breakdown): $12 (dinner for 3, although B didn't eat much curry)

1-2 tbsp olive oil ($0.40)

3 tbsp curry powder ($0.70)

1 yellow onion ($0.50)

3 cloves of garlic ($0.06)

about 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)

about 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper ($0.02)

about 1/2 tsp paprika ($0.05)

big bowl of shredded rotisserie chicken ($2.50)

1 can diced tomatoes ($1.06)

1 can coconut milk ($1.89)

1.5 tbsp brown sugar ($0.15)

small spoonful of minced ginger ($0.10)

juice of 1 lime ($0.40)

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut ($0.90)

rice ($2.25)

garlic naan ($1)

The recipe was pretty easy to make, and I generally followed it as written. I actually measured the curry powder for this one, and I think perhaps my eyeballing of tablespoons has been a little off over the years and I've been shortchanging us on spices. Oops. The chicken and onions tasted amazing covered in the curry powder, so my worry was that, once I added the coconut milk, that flavor would get muted, since that's happened so many times before. The curry aroma was strong though, and I just hoped the flavor would still be there in the finished product.

Since there was minimal prep for this recipe, the thing that took the longest was just letting the curry cook and thicken (and stirring occasionally). We left it on the stove for about 40-45 minutes before adding the lime juice and shredded coconut, but since that's not really very "active" cooking, this is also a recipe that lets you get other things done while dinner is underway.

I tried the curry after mixing in the lime and coconut to see how the flavor was, and I was amazed. It was delicious! The spices weren't as strong as they were before the coconut milk, but they were still there, and the curry had great flavor. We were so happy with how this turned out! Such a great way to utilize rotisserie chicken.

We ate the curry with some rice and naan on the side, and were so happy with it that I added it to our family cookbook while we were eating. I also loved that most ingredients were pantry staples (since you could sub canned chicken for rotisserie chicken, A's suggestion and a good one), so as long as you had an onion and a lime, this would work. It was quick and easy to put together, perfect for a weeknight meal. While I wish we didn't have to toss our sour cream in the garbage because I hate food waste, I'm also glad it happened because it led me to this recipe!