Coconut & Pineapple Chicken Curry over Rice Noodles
There was a time that I hated curry. In fact I would not touch it with a 10 foot pole. The first time that I tried chicken curry I was 22 or 23 years old living in Washington, DC. I worked close to Le’fant Plaza which has a sort of underground food court. It was on the “specials board” at one of the sandwich shops, so I thought I would give it a try. It wasn’t cool….in fact I thought it was disgusting. I don’t remember what it was about this chicken curry that was such a turn off but I remember being seriously perplexed that my co-worker was scarfing it down like it was a fillet Mignon covered in butter.
Shortly after that experience I moved into a highrise apartment with a girlfriend right outside of DC. We had some Indian neighbors down the hall and I remember countless times getting off of the elevator and the hallway was engulfed with the smell of curry and it would just make me cringe. It was just one of the benefits of living in stacked boxes in a metropolitan city. Not to mention the community washers and dryers, lugging groceries in elevator and hitting the ceiling with a broom stick at the noisy neighbors. Man I miss those days!
Meeeeeeemories,
Like the corners of my miiiiiiiiiind
Misty water-colored meeeeeeeemories
Of the waaay we werrrrreee………
Back to present day……
I don’t know if I just didn’t like that particular curry or if my tastebuds have evolved, but man, how times have changed. Now I smell curry and it makes me feel all warm inside. When I eat it I need a bib and some how manage to get some on my nose and forehead from licking the plate. Looking back I now know why my co-worker was scarfing it down like battered and deep fried candy bar. (Have you heard of these?)
This was our dinner on Monday. Unfortunately I left the one and only flash card that I can currently find at the office. My other card is MIA. Which is so annoying because it is the 4G card. Grrrr! The picture that you see here is was taken last night. That’s right these are 2 day old leftovers and let me tell you it was even better then the first day. All the flavor had melded together. There had been some serious osmosis going on. I totally licked the plate again and got some in my hair.
This dish is creamy and sweet, with a some heat of course. The pineapple chunks are little sweet surprise nuggets that don’t only add flavor but texture, along with the peppers and carrot. Oh, and although the cilantro is a “garnish”, I say it’s a must. When you get a bit of cilantro it gives the flavor another dimension of sorts. You taste the cilantro but it’s not over powering, it’s almost citrusy. If that makes sense?
*sluuuurrrrp, sluuuurrrp* *licking computor monitor* Oops my bad, I got a little overwhelmed with the tasty looking dish.
Let break it down….shall we?
Coconut & Pineapple Chicken Curry over Rice Noodles (Serves 4)
Heat large pot at medium-high heat, add oil, onions, garlic and ginger, saute till onion is tender.
Add chicken, bouillon and curry. Stir till chicken is well coated and browned. Add coconut milk and pineapple, bring to a boil and then turn down to medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add carrots, red pepper and cilantro, simmer an additional 5 minutes.
Prepare noodles according to package.
Serve chicken curry hot over noodles, garnish with cilantro.
Do you use fresh pineapple or canned?
You can use either, but fresh is best.
I found your blog through Cara’s Cravings blog.
Like you, I tried curry for the first time many years ago. My sister loved Indian food and insisted I give it a try. I ordered the mildest curry dish on the menu. I hated it so much I could only pick at it. But I didn’t want to make a big deal about it so I said I wasn’t that hungry, asked for a doggy bag, took it home and tossed it. I didn’t plan on ever eating curry again. But last year, we visited a family member who made a curry chicken dish for dinner. I thought, “Oh no. How am I going to get out of eating this and not offend my aunt”. But it wasn’t too bad. Then visiting my sister, I had some curry rice and, again, it wasn’t too bad. I’ve still been hesitant to make any dishes with it myself though – until I saw your recipe. Hubby and I love chicken, coconut and pineapple so I thought this might be a good way to get my feet wet with a homemade curry dish.
Hesitant to go full on right away, I used only 2 tsp of mild curry instead of the 2tbl of hot that your recipe called for. I also subsituted parsley for the cilantro (I really really dislike cilantro) and added just a pinch of sugar. Hubby and I loved it. It was creamy and delicious. Next time I try this I will try to add a little more curry. Baby steps.
Thanks for sharing not only the recipe but your story about your evolution into curry which prompted me to try it too.
I made this for dinner tonight… it was really really good! I substituted 1/2 of the hot Madras curry with regular curry because I’m not a huge ‘hot’ fan – and I think it still had a nice amount of heat. I can’t wait to try the leftovers tomorrow!!
The leftovers are even better because the chicken sits it that sauce all day long. Yum!
That chicken curry looks good! I like using juicy tangy pineapple in dishes like this.
This looks delish. I will make it soon, I think. 🙂
Have you been to Lanna Thai in Tulsa? I love their yellow curry. YUM. I’m drooling a little just thinking about it.
Giselle
I love a great curry!!! I have all of these ingredients on hand 🙂 mmm ideas!
This sounds amazing and might be the dish that gets my husband to love curry.
I’m like you, I hated curry but now the thought of coconut milk sprinkled with curry makes my taste buds soar! MMm, this dish looks sweet and spicy.
Ok, now that’s making me homesick…not a good thing to be on an empty stomach! Looks yum! I just did a post on Indian curries and I have to agree with you, considering the countless number of people I’ve met who’ve had not-so-good first-memories of curry and have later ended up falling in love with them!