Thai Chicken Curry- Family Circle & Stir Fried Beef with Onions- HTCE

For 6 years I have committed myself to a wonderful television show by the name of Lost. Many memories and nights with friends have been spent in wonder, amazement, confusion, and heartbreak and all of it came to a resoltion last evening. I was sad in the days leading up to the finale. After living with the characters and storylines for so long it was tough to know that the story would be ending and I would only have the memories (and DVDs) to bring me back to it. I won't wax poetic about the finale, or my thoughts on it, because that's not what this blog is about... it's about food.

That being said, I wanted to make something fun in honor of the finale event! I had a thai chicken recipe that I had been wanting to make for months now and thought it would be a good dish for the evening. I also wanted to do one other item and after some deliberations decided to add a second entree. Steak was on sale and the recipe from my How to Cook Everything cookbook seemed simple and incorporated ingredients that I had available.

I started by getting everything prepped up while John was still up so that once he went to bed I could quickly whip up the meal and we could get in front of the flatscreen for Lost. I sliced up the steak, chicken, & onions; minced up the garlic & ginger, and had everything set aside for take off. Once the boy was in bed I started the rice and got started with the stir fries. I wouldn't attempt this again with the two stir fry dishes at once. It got a little hectic for me as I tried to coordinate them both. It worked, but it was way more stressing than it should have been!

For the curry sauce, I combined 2/3 of the can of light coconut milk with curry paste. I used a little less paste than it called for because I didn't want to scare Shawn off. I simmered the sauce for a minute and then added the remaining milk with sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch and simmered for another minute. I added the chicken to the mix and it actually cooks in the sauce! Kind of neat to see chicken cooking in a cream sauce. Italians- do not try this with your alfredo!! Once the chicken is cooked through I added a thawed bag of asian frozen mixed vegetables until heated through and it was done! While this was going on.....

I sauteed the onions in sesame oil until they were charred and removed from the pan. I then added the garlic and ginger, sauteed for a minute, and added the beef. Once the beef was browned I added the onions back to the mix, added stock and hoisin, and it was ready for serving.... unfortunately my rice was not yet ready. I don't understand my challenges with rice!!! It's so annoying when everything is set to be ready at the same time and one item is lagging behind. It took almost an additional 10 minutes for my rice to fully absorb the water. Grrr....

So once it was ready, I heated the dishes up quickly and we were ready to try it all. Despite the holding time everything came out delicious! The steak was tender and flavorful and the onions were delicious with it. I love the combination of ingredients for the beef dish so I knew I would love it. You really can't go wrong with garlic, ginger, onions, and sesame oil. The chicken was fantastic! The curry was subtle and it all worked out beautifully. Shawn and I kept going back and forth which of these were our favorites and the chicken won out by only a little. It's also the heathier of the two!

I was so excited that Shawn really liked the curry. I loooove curry and this dish is super easy to make and healthy to boot. I'm definitely making it again!!

Thai Chicken Curry with Jasmine Rice- Family Circle 10-09
http://www.familycircle.com/recipe/chicken/thai-chicken-curry-with-jasmine-rice/

Stir Fried Beef with Onions- How to Cook Everything- Mark Bittman
3/4- 1lb flank or sirloin steak
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
2T peanut or vegetable oil
2 large or 3 medium onions, sliced thinly
1t minced garlic
1T peeled and minced ginger or grated fresh ginger, plus 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup stock or water
1T hoisin sauce or soy sauce

1. Slice beef as thinly as you can; it's easier if you freeze it for 15- 30 minutes first. Season with salt & pepper and set aside.
2. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat until it smokes. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and the onions. Stir immediately, then stir every 30 seconds or so until the onions soften and begin to char slightly, 4-5 minutes. Season the onions with salt & pepper then remove them; keep the heat on high
3. Add the remaining oil to the pan, then the garlic and 1 tablespoon of ginger; stir immediately and add the beef. Stir immediately, then stir every 20 seconds or so until it loses color, just a minute or two longer, then stir in the onions. Add the stock or water, the hoisin or soy, and the remaining ginger; let some of the liquid bubble away and serve immediately, over rice.