Have I mentioned that it is COLD in winter where I live? We moved to Michigan just over three years ago from warm and sunny Denver, Colorado. Most people that we mention that to are totally shocked that we call Denver “warm.” They don’t understand the idea of a dry cold and how much different that is. They can hardly believe it when we say that we don’t wear coats all that often in the winter. Sure, it gets cold from time to time, but mostly the winters are mild. We sometimes bike in January. I used to run in shorts at least one day of every month of the year. It snows sometimes, and then it melts in a few hours when the sun comes out again. It is AMAZING!
But, those days are no more. Now we live in Michigan. It is not sunny in the winter. Ever. It is SO COLD! I stocked up on boots, warm coats, and gloves. I became a hat person. Additionally, we are still trying to find some things to do in the winter. In Colorado, there was always something fun to do outside year round (snow or no snow). In Michigan, we are trying to find some things to love.
The people in Michigan seem to live like ants in ant hills. When it’s winter and cold and nasty, everyone is holed up in their houses. Hibernating maybe. As soon as the weather gets remotely nice (and by that we have a new perspective, so let’s say it’s 45 degrees or something balmy), everybody is out and about–walking, biking, running, etc. We barely see our next door neighbors until then. It’s just “get out of your car and sprint inside as fast as you can!”
We consistently come back to the fact that Michigan has some of the best people we’ve ever met. We are just blown away by the community we’ve been able to be a part of here. Maybe it’s that midwestern grit that just makes people tougher here. Maybe all that cold and snow does something to strengthen character, but seriously, these people are great. They keep us content, and even happy here. Who’da thunk.
So, in answer to our perpetual, what on earth do we do here in Michigan question (particularly in the winter), we have decided it must involve people. And also, let’s all just try to stay warm and cozy. So naturally that brings us to comfort food and dinner parties. Let’s just make something really delicious and invite people over to eat it with us.
We made homemade soft pretzels and beer cheddar fondue for the Super Bowl. We made fancy cocktails for Matthew’s birthday and served them with bacon wrapped dates, puff pastry wrapped brie bites, smoked scallops, and a cheese board. (Okay, I had nothing to do with those cocktails. That was all Matthew. The guy bartends his own birthday party.) I spent all weekend making chocolate croissants and we enjoyed them during one particular polar vortex. And yes, that last contribution to winter comfort food we did not even invite anyone to join us in. We ate them all ourselves. Sorry not sorry.
Now, most of this delicious food is not the kind of thing I can eat all the time. (Although, these digestive enzymes are saving my life right now.) Sometimes I want comfort food that is gluten and dairy free and doesn’t take all weekend to make (here’s looking at you, croissants!). In this case, I often turn to thai food.
I can whip up a pot of curry in 30-40 minutes. Also, I can make it a zillion different ways depending on the ingredients I have on hand. It’s perfect for a weeknight or a weekend with a few guests. Cue the acoustic covers in the background, pop open a bottle of bright, citrusy sauvignon blanc, and let’s have a little comfort food, thai-style.
A few recipe notes…
- My recipe calls for chicken thighs, but you can use whatever protein you’ve got on hand. I definitely like thighs better than chicken breasts most of the time (they have more flavor and we are not afraid of fat but lots of people are which makes thighs less expensive). You could totally use chicken breast if that’s what you have though. I really love thai curry with shrimp. If you’re using shrimp, I would just sauté the aromatics (onion, garlic, and ginger), add the veggies, coconut, and broth, and THEN once everything has come to a boil, reduce the heat and throw in the shrimp. That way the shrimp don’t overcook and turn into rubber. Always preferable.
- Use two cups of whatever veggies you like. This time around I used peas, mushrooms, and red bell peppers, but you can use whatever! Green beans would work. Bamboo shoots feel very authentic. Just go for it.
- Please use full fat coconut milk (this brand is my favorite)! That “lite” stuff is filled with chemical fillers to make the milk thicker without fat. Gross. All that fat is so good AND delicious. Please can we all stop being afraid of fat?
- Don’t skip the fish sauce! You’re going to get lots of authentic thai flavor here. You really can’t taste “fishiness” in the finished dish, so don’t worry about what it smells like going in.
- Any curry paste will do here–yellow, red, or green! I believe yellow is the most mild and green is the most spicy, so I opted for a happy medium here (this one). It doesn’t really taste spicy to my family at all, so we load on the sriracha (this one is so good!), but I think our spice meter is a bit higher than most families with small kids (start ’em early, folks!).
And now, to the recipe…
- 1 c. white jasmine rice
- 1 T. avocado oil or other neutral oil
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 small yellow onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 inch of fresh ginger
- 2 c. of vegetables (mushrooms, peas, bamboo shoots, bell peppers, etc.)
- 3 T. curry paste
- 13.5 oz. can coconut milk
- 2 c. chicken stock
- 2 T. fish sauce
- ¼ c. fresh basil
- Sriracha sauce for serving (optional)
- To make the rice, add rice to a fine strainer and rinse under cold water until water runs clear. Add the rice to a small sauce pan with 2 cups of water and a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cover for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the heat until ready to use.
- To make the curry, rinse chicken with cold water and dice into 1 inch cubes.
- Heat a 4 quart saucepan or small dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add the avocado oil and coat the bottom of the pan.
- Add the diced chicken thighs to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon.
- Meanwhile, cut the onion in half and slice. Grate the ginger with a fine grater. Peel and mince the garlic. Occasionally stir the chicken thighs so that they brown evenly.
- Once the chicken is starting to turn white, add the onions, garlic, and ginger to the pan. Stir to combine.
- Once the chicken is completely white and the onions have softened a bit. Add the vegetables and curry paste. Stir everything to combine. (It is totally okay if the chicken is not quite cooked through! It will continue to cook quite a bit!)
- Add the coconut milk and chicken stock to the pan.
- Bring the curry to a boil and then reduce the heat to low, allowing it to simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Chiffonade the basil. (Stack the individual leaves on top of one another, roll them up longways, and slice through making little basil rollups.)
- When the chicken is cooked through and vegetables are crisp tender, add in the fish sauce. Taste and season with salt if necessary (although fish sauce is quite salty, so you may not need any depending on the type of fish sauce you use!).
- To serve, scoop rice into the bottom of a bowl. Ladle curry over top of the rice. Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve with sriracha sauce.
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