Thursday, January 5, 2012

Red Curry Chicken and Biscuits


I was going to say that this isn't your mama's Chicken and Biscuits but it really is with just little tweak in the flavors.  Back when I made the highly pinterested Tom Ka Soup, I was thinking how close something like Tom Ka Gai is was to American chicken soup but with just a few different ingredients, it has an entirely different flavor profile.


So when a friend of mine dropped off a bag of parsley and chive biscuits from Flour Bakery, I thought I'd make Chicken and Biscuits -- a perfect winter comfort food in my mind -- only I'd put my own little twist on the old standard by adding red curry and coconut milk and a few other ingredients.

If you don't have the luxury of a Flour Bakery in the neighborhood, you should buy Joanne Chang's cookbook on Amazon (it's filled with awesome recipes!) but you can also find the recipe here.  (Please note the recipe is for parsley and sage biscuits, but swap out the sage for chives.)  Joanne Chang is best known nationally for her sticky bun Throwdown with Bobby Flay.  (Joanne, won!)  But locally, flour is a place we rush every Saturday morning, usually parking illegally, to stand in line hoping the almond croissants don't run out before we get to the head of the line.  Sometimes we talk loudly about how good the Morning Glory Muffins look just to throw off the eavedroppers.  But I digress. 

The way I made this would serve about three:

1 whole chicken breast, roasted and cubed
1 carrot, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups of chicken stock
1/2 cup-ish frozen peas
6-8 mushrooms, sliced
2 Tablespoons red curry paste
1/3 cup of coconut milk
1/3 cup of chopped cilantro
Juice of half a lime 
salt and pepper

Obviously you have to start out having your biscuits made and your chicken breast roasted.  This would be a perfect dish if you have leftover chicken (maybe three cups?) or you could be lazy and buy a rotisserie chicken.  I had a split breast so I removed the skin, seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted it a 375 for about 35-40 minutes.


Saute the onions and carrots in the olive oil, season with salt and pepper until soft.  (I left out the celery because it didn't seem to fit the flavor profile but I think it would have been fine to add it.)

Add the flour and saute a few minutes just so it's not raw.  Add the chicken broth and heat until it starts to thicken.


Add the red curry paste and coconut milk and stir until incorporated.

Add the mushrooms and peas and cook for a few more minutes.


Finally, add the chicken, cilantro and lime juice just to heat a few minutes before serving.



Cut the biscuit in half and ladle some of the stew over the bottom half of the biscuit.  Top with the other half of the biscuit, garnish with a few more cilantro leaves and serve.

It was amazingly good!

As an alternative to biscuits, you could make a simple dumpling and add just a little coriander and/or ginger and chopped cilantro so they're a little different and boil on the top of the hot stew.  You may want to make your own tweaks to the recipe.  More curry, less curry, more coconut milk, no mushrooms, add pototoes...I think it's a very flexible recipe.

I can't wait to make it again. 



** Clarification on the gin-drinking paperwhites **

I just wanted to make sure everyone had the correct details on applying gin to the paperwhites.  Here's an important clarification from the Yankee Magazine article.

"When they're up about three inches, add about half a shot glass of gin to a cup of water and give it to them. Next time you water, repeat, and you'll find that they won't get so leggy. The gin stunts their growth, and they'll bloom more in scale with their stalks."

It also refers to vodka, whiskey, tequila and rubbing alcohol also working but the writer thought gin was the best.  I'd almost like to do two new pots of paperwhites side by side to test out the theory.

* * * * *

Finally, I was goofing around with an animation software I found on line called Picasion.  I made up this little animation on how to make crostini so I'm uploading it to see if it runs.  These things always make my mind race with ideas on fun ways to use them.

create an avatar

52 comments:

  1. Is it flexible to make w/o the chicken? :) I love hearty soup/stews with a good biscuit ... you photographed it very well.

    You are just a man of all talents!

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  2. If I had a cap to doff, you would consider yourself doffed, that dish looks spectacularly good and the animation is superb.

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  3. Seems like a vegatable stew made with vegetable broth would be delicious.

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  4. Thank, Tabitha. It looks like the animation is working. Wish it had "click to start" button rather than an endless loop.

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  5. Steve I could be there in an hour and a half if you want to set the table....it looks delicious!!!! Thanks for sharing your recipe!

    Hugs!
    Debra

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  6. Steve,
    When you decide to offer dinner and a tour of your abode as an auction item for your favorite charity, please let me know...I want to be the top bidder!

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  7. t
    I wish everyone was local. That would be a great idea! s.

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  8. I'M STARVING !! Right now I'd eat that chicken and biscuits right up!

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  9. First, that looks amazing, but after Christmas I look more like a biscuit myself (soft and pasty), so I am only eating vegatables until June. Secondly, how do you know you have been pinterested? I never look at pinterest but must get in the habit. I wanted to sign up but they want me to have a f**(*_&*^& facebook account, which I don't. So do you search yourself?

    Also, what do you tweet and to whom? I feel like I am missing something.

    P.S. I do like these cooking posts of yours. I also feel sorry for those paperwhites drinking gin all afternoon while you are at work.

    xo T.

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  10. I'll be home by 6 if you want to make a batch and drop it by, hahahaha! Perfect post for this cold New England day. The crositini show at the end is fabulous. It looks like a cookbook. But then, what's new? :)

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  11. Terri,
    I'm answering you in the comments so everyone can see. You are all over pinterest. I went to Pinterest and searched "Windlost" and found one photo of your garden. If you click on that photo, there's a little box in at lower left that says "See all pins from Windlost" or something like that. If you click there, you can see all the pins that people have made from your blog. You'll be shocked I think. Pinterest is a great way to organize and save images in case you ever want to go back and see them again. It's quite addictive unfortunately.

    Secondly, Twitter. I always thought was a waste of time but even with limited use, you can get information from local businesses that might be having special events or discount, things like that. I also get local police reports daily just to see what's going on the neighborhood.

    But it's also a great networking tool. Everytime I do a post, I tweet some little sentence with a teaster about the post, it lets people know a post has gone up. It's really increased my traffic to the blog by being on Twitter but it does take a little bit of work to find people to follow, designers and such, and sometimes they follow you back.

    I also tweet photos of things I find interesting when I'm out about. They're sometimes things that will never make it to the blog but I think they're tweetworthy.

    Does that help?

    Steve

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  12. Just leaving work when I saw this. OMG my mouth is watering! I think I'll be making a stop at the market on the way home, pick up a few things and give this a try!

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  13. I can't wait to take a "road trip" to Flour! Your dish looks delicious!

    Mary

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  14. Oh how I wish we had a local "FLOUR". Your recipe looks delish. Is there anything you cannot do? :)

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  15. I'll be making the road trip with Mary to Flour for sure. This dish looks yummy and perfect for the cold snap we were in.

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  16. Looks delicious! Coconut milk is one of my favorite ingredients in soup, stew, curry...

    The animation looks great. I think it's better on a loop. Those of us with blogger ADD are too exhausted to click an arrow by the time we are at the bottom of a post.

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  17. Sarah,
    I thought about vegetarian and/or vegan options on my way home and I think butternut squash would be good in place of chicken. And, of course, vegetable stock.

    Or how about lentils and spinach? I think I'd leave cilantro out of that version but I'm not sure.

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  18. You are giving Pioneer Woman a run for her money by showing your gorgeous recipes in photos. That dish looks so good, a great improvement on the old chicken a la king.

    Is there anything you can't do?

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  19. Yum! Sounds like just the thing for a snowy night to invite the neighbors ... or maybe just tomorrow night. Thanks for sharing.

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  20. Yes, that helps. Twitter seems like an awful lot of work/time spend, but I think it is like the blog - once it is set up and you have the habit, it becomes quick and efficient.

    Pinterest is lovely - I must get in the habit of visiting more.

    Honestly though, working at my engineering job seems to be taking up too much time all of a sudden. A half hour a day on the internet is just not enough...!
    :D

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  21. Those biscuits look good enough to justify a trip from New Mexico. When I get organized to make a trip to New England your blog will be my travel guide!

    Will you keep your oven when you remodel your kitchen? I was impressed with how perfectly evenly your crostini browned--or did your little OCD streak have you re-arranging them several times??

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  22. Rosalind,
    I'd be happy to be your tour guide and include a biscuit run. I'll keep this oven when I renovate the kitchen until I can afford the oven I want. I did rearrange the crostini but only to get a small group that locked together nicely. There were two burned ones that I sliced too thin and -- I guess I'm busted -- I swapped those out.

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  23. This is already all over pinterest! I didn't even realize it was a new recipe...oh my gosh...it looks so good! Flour Bakery...I remember seeing that episode with Bobby Flay. I always have chives and parsley in my garden so making my own biscuits will not be a problem!

    love your new tool...that crostini photo is all over Pinterest too!

    Bon Apetit!

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  24. Mmmm, Yum!
    Could I make that in a Crock Pot?
    I think I have one of those things around here someplace, and
    biscuits...could I use the type you smack on the edge of the counter?
    :D :D :D
    (love the animation)

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  25. I love your experiment with the paperwhites and gin. The chicken dish looks delicious and I will try it.

    Helen xx

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  26. Your curry chicken and biscuits looks mouth watering. I will try to find time to make it this weekend. Also, I love your new little trial with Picasion. It is fun to see it rotate through although I agree with you that it would be nice to have a stop and start button! Thanks for taking the time to try out Picasion. I look forward to seeing it in use in the future!

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  27. I just posted another version of this recipe but without the curry. What a great addition! Certainly around here that is a welcome comfort food in the cold months.

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  28. Biscuits have got to be one of my most favorite foods, right up there with corn bread, peach pie, and iced tea. I'm a native Californian but southern food (well done southern food) is incredibly homey and satisfying. My favorite biscuit recipe comes from the Palo Alto Junior League Cookbook from the early 80's and it has sour cream and milk in it. I sometimes substitute them with buttermilk. Anyway, your recipe, I believe would impress Lee Bailey. Shiree'

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  29. Oh, that looks good! We love curry at my house, although we usually use the yellow. We will put this recipe on our to do list for next week! Thank you... we are new to your site. xo jill

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  30. I made it.And it was dee-lish!!!I used my Grandma's recipe for drop dumplings and added the coriander and cilntro instead of her chives.This recipe rocks!Thanx tons!

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  31. So glad you liked it! I love dumplings. I might have to make it again. Some else just tweeted me that they used basil instead of cilantro and they loved it. Thanks for trying it!

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  32. Looks delicious! I'm going to start some paper whites. Looking forward to giving them a sip of gin and I'll have one with them :o)

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  33. Dahhhling what a FAB post & recipe!

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  34. This is so strange. I rarely buy cilanto (sense C hates it) and NEVER buy coconut milk. But for some wierd reason I bought both at the market earlier this week. And of course got the 'whatda' buy this for?' look when I got home. Although after the fact, they now have a reason for being here!

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  35. Oh Steve-O...I LOVEthe looks of this recipe. I don't like peas, and may substitute snow or sugar snap peas...and maybe add some diced butternut squash....YUM!

    Poor little lushes, those paperwhites...rehab?

    I'm a gonna go looking for you on twitter and pinterest now...umhm!

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  36. wait...How DOES one fnd you on Pinterest? Hmmm?

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  37. This dish --- like everything else that you creat -- looks simply amazing. Thanks for the inspiration and the recipe!

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  38. Hello from the other Cambridge (UK)
    I've just stumbled across your lovely blog & have been highly entertained by the thought of feeding gin to paperwhites! Just off to have a look at your house photos now...

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  39. Just love the phrase HIGHLY PINTERESTED and am absolutely certain it will go viral!

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  40. When I like to do something with a "twist" I add gulyas or paprika cream,which you can usually find in european delis. It's either in a jar or a tube, and comes either sweet (csemege or edes) or hot (csipos) A good dollop/squirt of the former, and less of the latter really adds another dimension of taste (to savoury food obviously - don't add it when I want to change up a crumble or cookie recipe!)
    Caroline Csak, Calgary, Alberta

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  41. Caroline,
    I'll have to look for that. I've never heard of it. Thanks for mentioning it.
    Steve

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  42. I feel starving hungry, Steve! It looks absolutely delicious. Your 'biscuit' is what I would describe as a scone. Now I'm going to have to raid the kitchen and eat something/anything before I slope off to bed!

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  43. Sounds wonderful. I will have to download the recipe. Yum!

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  44. you just reminded me of Sally'd chicken and dumpings - a hearty winter dish!

    I finally figured out that when I added you to my favorites, I didn't subscribe to your blog. Took care of that this morning...
    Looking forweard to following you on a more regular basis!

    Cheers,

    John

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  45. I know what I'm making for my next dinner with friends. Thanks for the fantastic pictures!

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  46. the crostini was delicious, can't wait to try the chicken and biscuits.
    Thanks from Red Deer, Canada.

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  47. This looks great! I'm glad I found you.

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  48. As I mentioned in my earlier message, your pics made my mouth water. Just wanted to let you know I really did stop at the market on my way home and get the few ingrediants I didn't have and made this. Super good (I'm making it again tomorrow night!)

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  49. Oh my! This looks like a mouth watering comfort food if I have ever seen one. Pinning for sure.

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  50. Jane at smallbutcharming posted about your curry so I had to pop by and have a look.Glad I did. With a name like An Urban Cottage I am intrigued and off now to delve a big more. I love blogging Woo hoo..Sinead at Urban Stems!!!

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  51. I love this recipe thanks for sharing its going on save for us!

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  52. Simply put....I wish you were my neighbor....I would force you to invite me over for food.

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