Indonesian Chicken

Last Wednesday I cooked some skinless chicken breasts in an Indonesian-style coconut curry.  When asked what she wanted done to the meat, Vanessa requested Indian food, so I looked through an Asian cookbook, and figured this was culinarily close enough.  It also happened to sound really delicious. 

I have recommended this cookbook before on this blog, but I really cannot say enough good things about it.  In fact, click here to buy it - you really should.  There are sections in the book on regional foods from China, Indonesia, Singapore/Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Laos/Cambodia, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, India/Pakistan, Burma, and Sri Lanka.  It calls for authentic spices and ingredients, not premade sauces or spice mixes.  Many recipes may be difficult if you do not have an overstocked pantry, but there are so many tantalizing recipes and pictures that it may encourage you to try new things.  I have certainly learned a great deal from this book.

For the dish that I made, which was a slight modification from the book's recipe, I blended onion, garlic, ginger and a little water into a paste in a food processor.  Then I cooked this in a pan with some coconut milk, turmeric, coriander, white pepper, salt, sriracha chili sauce, and ponzu (a Japanese citrus sauce that I used instead of the called for kaffir lime leaves).  I placed the chicken breasts, whole, in this mixture, and cooked them over a low heat for about forty minutes.  Then I removed the chicken, caked with chunks of onion sauce, and seared them on a grill pan to caramelize.  I reduced the sauce and pored it over the meat on the plate.  To go with this, I made some cardamom infused jasmine rice, with green peas and almond slivers.  I also heated up some frozen naan to help soak up the sauce.  Everything was topped with diced scallion and fresh cilantro from my herb garden.

Indonesian-Style Coconut Chicken

Cardamom Infused Jasmine Rice and Naan

Admittedly, this meal was lacking in vegetables.  I always try to cook a protein, starch and vegetable in every meal, and I dropped the ball on this one (the few peas mixed with the rice really should not count).  Everything was tasty though, so no one minded.

Another picture that I wanted to share, entirely unrelated, is of this amazing sandwich that I had last weekend in Florida.  Vanessa and I went to Amelia Island with my family for my cousin's wedding.  We had a great mini-vacation on the beach and at various wedding-related parties.  For lunch one day in the town of Fernandina Beach, we ate at a place called LuLu's.  Below is my fried soft shell crab sandwich, which was AMAZING!!!!