Massaman Chicken Curry

If I had to pick one dish that was my favorite in the whole world, massaman curry could be it. I say "could" because as you can tell I am absolutely obsessed with food, so picking one food is next to impossible. However, I adore Thai food, and massaman is so close to heavenly it would at least make the top 5.

Maintaining a recipe blog like this is both a blessing and a curse. You are experimenting along the way, so a plus is you're always making something new. However, you're bound to need to make adjustments along the way which interrupts the recipe writing process. That said, I realized halfway through making this that I needed either a bigger pot or to have made less food. 

So what did we learn? 

You will either need to cut this recipe in half or use a big soup pot to make it!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. oil

1 onion, chopped

2 lb boneless chicken breast or thighs, cut into strips

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced 

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 (14 oz) cans coconut milk 

8-10 tbsp. massaman curry paste (or red curry paste)*

1 (8 oz) jar satay sauce

1 red pepper, chopped

3 oz. roasted peanuts

*The more curry paste, the spicier. If you can't find massaman paste, you can use red curry but it tends to be spicier.

Teriyaki Chicken

This has always been one of my favorite dishes, but I hated using the pre-made marinades or sauces because they always came out too salty. I had to work on this recipe for quite some time before I was happy with it.

Ingredients:

1 c. soy sauce (I used low-sodium)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp pepper

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp cold water

20 oz. pineapple chunks, drained and juice reserved

2 tsp oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (2-inch) piece of ginger root, peeled and minced

3 lbs. boneless chicken thighs, cut into strips

1 broccoli crown, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 carrots, chopped
1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Filipino Chicken Stew (Chicken Adobo)

This was a staple dish during my childhood, probably because my parents were so hardworking and this dish is easy to prepare and only requires one pot to cook it. Now when I make it, I make a big batch and eat it for leftovers over a week. The pic above was from a different time that I made it, since I forgot to take a final picture this time around... 

I have been recently told by my mother, after several Pinoys out there denied this recipe's authenticity, that this version is Batangueno style (from the great province of Batangas where my mom was raised).

Ingredients:

2 lb. chicken, traditionally thighs and drumsticks

2 tbsp. oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 cloves garlic

2 cups water

4 tbsp rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar 

6 tbsp soy sauce 

2 bay leaves 

salt & pepper to taste 

Not pictured due to my poor planning: bay leaves, salt & pepper. I also usually use fresh garlic but I didn't have any, so I used some jarred minced garlic.

Heat oil in a pot, add chicken and brown on both sides. I typically use drumsticks and thighs, but I did not have any thighs in my freezer. I do recommend using both thighs and drumsticks for a nice variety.

Add onions and garlic and cook until caramelized. 

Add water, vinegar, and soy sauce.

Add potatoes.

Season with salt and pepper and add bay leaves.

Stir and stew for 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Serve over sticky rice

I eat mine in a bowl and soak up the sauce in the rice. The chicken should fall right off the bone. Yum!