Pantry Raid: Pineapple-Curry Chicken

The fridge is pretty sparse these days, which always forces me into concoction mode when it comes time to slap together a meal. I had some chicken thighs thawing in the fridge and some leftover couscous from last night’s dinner. Some poking around the pantry found a can of pineapple chunks in juice and and a further search of the fridge found some heirloom cherry tomatoes, mixed hot chiles, fresh ginger root and red curry paste. Not exactly a classic dish, but I knew I could make this work

Dish: Pineapple-Curry Chicken

Ingredient rundown:
- 2 chicken thighs, skinned and deboned
- inch or so of ginger root, minced
- 2 hot chiles (any will do)
- handfull of mixed heirloom cherry tomatoes
- half a can of pineapple chunks in juice
- sprinkling of flour and cornstarch (enough to coat a plate)
- spices (garlic powder, ground chipotle, s+p)
- red curry paste (Trader Joe’s)
- splash each of sesame oil and olive oils

Serves 2(ish)

How I do it:

1. Cut chicken thighs into rough chunks

2. Cut chiles into thin strips, quarter cherry tomatoes, mince ginger

3. Mix flour, cornstarch, garlic and chipotle powders, s+p and sprinkle on a plate. Roll chicken pieces in mixture until well-coated.

4. Heat oils in medium skillet over medium-high heat and sauté ginger with garlic powder for a minute or two. Add coated chicken and sauté until browned and crispy, 3-5 minutes on each side.

5. Remove chicken to drain and add chiles, tomatoes and pineapple with a dash of salt to sauté for another 3-5 minutes.

6. Add chicken back to the vegetables and add a couple tablespoons of red curry paste and the pineapple juice from the can. Sauté for 5-10 minutes until the sauce is thickened to your liking.

7. Serve with jasmine rice or, in my case, leftover couscous spiced with powdered ginger and lemon juice.

Like I said, kind of a goofy composition, but it turned out pretty well. Would have been great with some coconut milk, and more diverse veggies, had I access to either in this case.  Another more-or-less successful concoction worthy of my first “recipe” here for the masses.

As you will come to find, I don’t really like recipes. That’s not to say I don’t use them, but more often than not they serve as jumping-off points, and they are almost always tweaked based on what I’m craving and what I have on hand. So consider what I post here a general framework for creating a tasty dish that you can customize extensively in most cases. I would love to hear from anyone who attempts any of these dishes and makes it their own. Happy cooking!