Well the time has come! I have finally gotten around to creating my blog. I am very new to this, so please be patient with me.
I have always been in love with food, but in the last few years, my love has grown to the point of needing food to be my career. I have recently enrolled in culinary school at The Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. I start in June, and I honestly could not be more excited for anything, except maybe my upcoming wedding in May 2016 to the love of my life Jeremy. Our wedding is taking place in Bucerias (just outside of Puerto Vallarta), which is suiting because Jeremy actually proposed to me on our vacation to Mexico last June (cue awwwwww’s). I have 2 kids. Sierra will be 12 in June (is it just me, or does a lot happen in June?), and my son Steven is 8. They are the nicest kids I know, and I am so proud to call them mine.
I am going to attempt to blog a minimum 3 times a week. I would really like to keep a journal of my journey through culinary school, and actually my journey through life from this point forward. The majority of my posts will be about food, because lets face it, that is why you are all here anyways. I will include recipes, when I am able to. I get a lot of my recipes online, so I will be sure to give credit where credit is due. I will not take credit for creating something that I have gotten from somebody else. That’s just not how I roll.
The recipe I will be including today is for CHILI CHICKEN I have adapted this recipe from one I found on Tasty Indian Recipes. I have changed some things to make it a little bit healthier, and more suited to my taste, but I want to ensure that the flavour will still punch you in the face.
CHILI CHICKEN
Serves:4
Calories: 278
Total fat: 11.9g
Carbs: 7.5g
Protein: 33.2g
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 7PP
Ingredients
1 pound chicken breast (boneless/skinless)
20 dried curry leaves*
1 green chili split in half (I used a serrano)
1 red pepper cut into strips
1 medium white onion chopped
1/2 cup green onion
1 TBLS sriracha
1 TBLS low sodium soy sauce
1/4 TBLS vinegar (I like apple cider)
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp Red chili powder (make sure it is Indian chili powder. If you can’t find it, cayenne will work)
2 TBLS corn starch divided
2 TBLS all purpose flour
4 cloves of garlic
2 TBLS fresh chopped ginger
1 TBLS oil for frying
1 tsp salt
Directions
1. Cut the chicken breast into bite sized pieces. Add to a bowl with 1 TBLS cornstarch, flour, red chili powder and 1 tsp salt. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Heat oil in a shallow non stick pan over medium/high. Add chicken and fry for 6 minutes or until chicken is golden brown in colour, and done. Take the chicken out and set aside.
3. Add curry leaves, chili, red pepper, white onion, garlic, ginger and white pepper to the pan. Stir fry the vegetables for 3-4 minutes, until soft.
4. Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, sriracha, and vinegar in a bowl. Whisk 1 TBLS corn starch into 1/4 cup water until fully mixed. Add cornstarch mixture to the soy sauce mixture. Add this mixture to the pan with the vegetables and cook until thickened.
5. Add chicken and green onion. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes and serve. Enjoy!
*You can find dried curry leaves at most Indian specialty grocery stores. If you can find fresh ones, use half as many. Fresh curry leaves are much more potent.
The Crystal Kitchen 