Curried Fried Rice with Chicken

The whole house is fragrant when I cook this. Quick and easy, and so hard to mess up, this is a favorite of our family. You can mix and match the veggies, and even substitute scramble eggs for the chicken, or tofu, for a non-meat version. I usually add cilantro to the dish, but tonight I was out.

The amounts are approximate. I rarely measure. I know it seems like a lot of spice but it really is not.

4 T. vegetable oil

6 cloves of garlic minced fine

3 to 4 T. chopped fresh ginger

1 onion, chopped

1 1/2 T. Curry powder

1 T. Chili powder

1 T. ground Coriander

6 Cups of cooked rice, brown or white

2 to 4 cups of veggies, your choice(I used 3 cups of snow peas, and a whole bag of frozen peas and carrots)

1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce

4 cooked shredded chicken breasts

1 bunch of green onions, sliced

3 to 4 T. chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok, over high heat. Add the garlic, stirring until fragrant, about 5 seconds. Add the ginger and onion, stir fry until the onion is softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, chili powder, and the coriander. Add the rice and vegetables and stir until it's heated through. Add the chicken, soy sauce, cilantro, and green onions. Heat through, and serve. We have it with a green salad for a well rounded nutritional meal. 

Yummy too. Be prepared for seconds. This makes a ton, and my kids eat it all.

Chicken in Lime and Chili Marinade

This recipe is from Super Food Ideas...

400g chicken tenderloins
oil cooking spray
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

Marinade
1/3 lime juice
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
2 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp finely chopped red chili
2 green onions, roughly chopped

1) Place chicken tenderloins into a large bowl.

2) To make marinade... Combine all ingredients in a jug. Whisk to combine.

3) Pour marinade over chicken. Toss gently to coat. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour, if time permits. (I made this a few days ahead of time and froze it until needed... was perfect.)

4) Drain chicken, reserving marinade. Heat frying pan over medium-high heat. Spray with oil. Add chicken. Cook, basting with marinade, for 3 minutes each side or until cooked through.

5) Arrange chicken on plates. Sprinkle with coriander. Serve with lime wedges and steamed vegetables.

Asian-Style Chicken Salad Rolls

This recipe is from Super Food Ideas...

1 barbecued or roast chicken
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 carrot, cut into small this strips
1/2 cup cashews, roughly chopped
bread rolls, to serve

Dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed

1) Remove skin from chicken and discard. Remove chicken from bones and discard bones. Shred chicken. Place into a bowl.

2) Make Dressing. Combine all ingredients in a jug. Whisk with a fork until well combined.

3) Pour dressing over chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Toss well to combine. Place into an airtight container. Place onions, carrot and nuts into separate airtight containers.

4) When ready to serve, add onions, carrot and nuts to chicken. Toss. Spoon into bread rolls or serve as a salad.

Butter Chicken

This recipe is from the cookbook Simply Heaven Volume 2.

2 tbsp oil
500g (1 lb) chicken thigh fillets, cut into chunks (I used boneless chicken breast)
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes
250ml Philly Original Cream for Cooking
Steamed basmati rice, to serve
1/4 cup coriander leaves
1/4 cup tasted flaked almonds
Steamed green vegetables, to serve
Pappadums, to serve

1) Heat half the oil in a large saucepan and cook the chicken for 5 minutes or until golden. Remove and set aside.

2) Heat the remaining oil in the saucepan and saute the onions for 5 minutes, until softened. Reduce the heat; stir in garlic, ginger and spices and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and chicken, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

3) Stir in the cream and simmer until heated through. Spoon chicken and sauce over rice in serving bowls. Sprinkle with coriander and almonds. Serve with green vegetables and pappadums.

Chicken Drumsticks with Parsley and Lemon

1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 bunch parsley, finely chopped
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 large lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
8 chicken drumsticks
2 truss tomatoes, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

1) In a medium bowl combine garlic, parsley, lemon rind, 3/4 juice of one lemon and olive oil. Score drumsticks by making 2 slits about 2 cm apart on both sides of the drumstick with a sharp knife. Place drumsticks in a large bowl and pour half of the parsley mixture over the chicken, reserve other half of the marinade. Mix well then cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

2) Preheat grill to medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook the drumsticks on the hot grill for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked through to the bone with an internal temperature of 75*C (167*F).

3) In a large bowl, combine tomato, avocado, 1/4 juice of lemon and olive oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4) Drizzle the reserved parsley sauce over and around chicken and serve.

Corn, Chicken and Cashew Salad

This recipe is from the magazine Super Food Ideas.

1/3 cups cashews
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
250g (about 9 oz) fresh baby corn, washed and halved
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
125g (about 4 1/2 oz) snow peas, trimmed and shredded
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp caster sugar

1) Heat wok or large frying pan over high heat until hot. Add cashews and stir-fry for about 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a plate.

2) Add 2 tsp oil to wok and swirl to coat. Add corn and stir fry for about 1 to 2 minutes until bright yellow and mostly tender. Remove to a large bowl and set aside for about 5 minutes to cool.

3) Add green onions chicken and snow peas to corn. Toss gently to combine.

4) Whisk 1/4 cup lime juice, sugar, remaining oil and salt and pepper in a bowl and drizzle over salad. Add cashews, toss gently and serve.

Note: I stir-fried the meat and veggies together and made it a warm (not hot) salad... tasted really good!

Chicken Kababs

This recipe is from the Mastering the Art of Wok Cooking cookbook.

345g (11oz) chicken breast, boneless
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp mild curry powder
pinch of chili powder or cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Batter
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp mild curry powder
3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs

1) Skin chicken breasts and rub with a mixture of the lemon juice, curry and chili powder (or cayenne) and the salt. Place on a covered plate and set aside at room temperature for 10 minutes to absorb the flavors.

2) Cut the chicken into 12 strips and thread each strip onto a bamboo or metal skewer. Mix the batter ingredients, except the breadcrumbs, together in a bowl. Spread the breadcrumbs on a plate.

3) Heat deep oil to moderately hot in the wok. Dip the chicken into the batter, then coat with crumbs. Place in the deep oil to fry about 2 1/2 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown on the surface. Serve hot with wedges of lemon and a sweet chutney.

Coriander Chicken Curry

This recipe comes from the Super Food Ideas magazine's Dec 2007/Jan 2008 issue. I tried it for the first time last night and it was soooooooo super yummy! It's best cooked in a wok, but if you don't have one you'll need a very large frying pan or medium sized pot.

Olive oil cooking spray
500g (about 1 lb) chicken breast fillets, nut into 2cm pieces
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 cup warm water
200g green beans, trimmed and chopped
1 large zucchini, halved and thinly sliced
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1/3 cup fresh coriander, chopped
coriander sprigs and steamed jasmine rice, to serve

1) Heat wok over high heat. Spray with oil. Stir fry chicken, in batches, for 2 to 3 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove to a bowl.

2) Return wok to high heat. Spray with oil. Add onion. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until soft. Add curry paste. Stir fry for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add tomatoes and 1 cup warm water. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.

3) Add beans and zucchini. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes or until zucchini is just cooked through. Return chicken to wok. Add lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and chopped coriander. Stir gently until heated through. Serve curry with rice and coriander sprigs.

Lemon Garlic Chicken

6 skinless chicken breasts
8 tsp fresh lemon juice
8 tsp white wine or chicken stock
8 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp honey
4 tsp fresh chopped or 1 tsp dried oregano
Pinch of black pepper

1) Prepare marinade in small mixing bowl. Combine lemon juice, wine/chicken stock, 4 tsp olive oil, garlic, honey, oregano and pepper. Mix well.

2) Add chicken to marinade and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins.

3) In a large frying pan, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan and fry for 1 minute on each side. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 12 minutes (6 minutes on each side) or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. (Also tastes good bbq'd)