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Sunday, February 12, 2012

Moqueca de Chicken


I kind of go nuts for reversible items.

I was pretty big on them growing up: hats, jackets, you name it. It would drive me nuts if the zipper only worked on one side, or if there was a tag that would be exposed....which now leads me to believe that maybe these so-called reversible items were actually just regular clothes?

Ok, so it's possible that I spent a lot of my childhood with my clothes inside-out. There were also a lot of cargo pockets, overall shorts, corduroys, and colored denim, but I don't want to get into that right now.

Basically, I love things that can turn into other things. I also loved two things coming together as one, the way shorts and skirts do in the skort. I always wanted a skort.

Today, I combined two recipes into one as I made an attempt at Brazilian cooking for week 6 of the challenge. I found the first recipe, Moqueca de camarão, and liked what I saw. The only problem was that I already begun defrosting chicken. (Also, shopping for shrimp is so much work. Is it wild or farm-raised? Is it from a country that raises concern? Also, is this a decent price? Raw? Tail-on or off? No thanks. I'll just have the chicken.) Then, I found a similar recipe for Brazilian Chicken with Coconut Milk and decided to combine their powers for my dinner.

My delightfully delicious dinner. It also helps that I've been craving curry for days!


Moqueca de Chicken
Inspired by the recipes above.

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can coconut milk

Directions:
Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Combine in a medium bowl with the teaspoons of cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne. Add the minced garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1/5 teaspoon of pepper and set aside while you chop the remaining vegetables.

After chicken has had time to marinade, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Place chicken in the skillet and cook through for about 10 - 15 minutes. Definitely ok to cut into your thickest chicken piece to make sure they are cooked well. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and return to heat. Cook the chopped onion and bell pepper over medium heat, stirring until softened. Around 8 - 10 minutes. Add diced tomatoes and simmer until thick, about 10 minutes. Stir in the can of coconut milk and bring to a boil before adding the cooked chicken pieces. Add the 2 tablespoons of lime juice and bring to a simmer, stirring often for 5 minutes.


Serve over rice, maybe even Brazilian White Rice, and enjoy.

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