Thai Red Curry Chicken with Lime Scented Coconut Rice

I really do need to think about better photos - this doesn't look as appetizing as it could.

I love when meals come together.  You know, those last minute ones, where you've been out of the co untry for five weeks and you get home and there is nothing fresh in the house - you might be lucky and have some frozen chicken and some rice, and waaaaay in the back of the pantry. . . . what's this?  A jar of Trader Joe's Red Curry Sauces?  Hmph.  Now seems like a good time to check that out.  I call the mister to see if he can grab it seems that  me a lime and a can of coconut milk because I am struck by inspiration.

Now, I have a confession to make here.  Rice and I?  Not the best of buddies.  I used to make a lot of what I called Spanish rice when I lived in Australia (tomatoes, chorizo, green onions, scrambled egg), but a lot of the time, regular old rice turns out too goopy (let's be honest, my Spanish rice was almost always too goopy - more risotto than anything else) or too dry.

My five weeks in Mexico have given me a new confidence and interest in rice, so I figured I'd go for it.  Now, I can't take all the credit here - seems I'm not the only one that has had great luck with the TJ's red curry, (and what's this?  it's not horrible for you?!  hot damn!!) so I highly recommend you grab a bottle and keep it on hand.  Plus, this only took me as long as it took the rice to cook - about 20 minutes or so.

Thai Red Curry Chicken with Lime Scented Coconut Rice
2 chicken breasts (the ones I had were nice and thin and not gargantuan monstrosities)
salt and pepper
garlic powder
olive oil
1/2 of a large white onion - 1/4 cup finely diced, the rest roughly chopped
2 cups of frozen broccoli (or fresh if you have it!)
TJ's red curry sauce
1 cup of rice
light coconut milk - 1 to 1 1/2 cups
water - 1 cup
lime zest - 1 tbsp or so

Nuke your frozen broccoli, or cook it til just tender if you're using fresh and set aside.
Season both sides of the chicken breast with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Put 1-2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and heat over medium high and cook about 4-5 minutes on each side til lovely and golden brown and cooked through.  If it was a teeny tiny bit pink in the middle, that would be okay - just set it aside.
While the chicken is searing, get the rice going - In a pot, add 1 tbsp olive oil to heat over medium high and then add the finely diced onions and let them start to get translucent; you don't want them to brown.  Once ready, add the cup of rice and sort of dry fry it with the onions for a few minutes.  You can let it go until it's translucent as well, but I had people in the kitchen that I hadn't seen in a while, so I really didn't pay much attention to how far I let it go.
Add the cup of coconut milk and the cup of water.  Allow to boil, turn down to simmer, cover and allow to cook until done.  Check on the rice to see if it needs more liquid - if so, you can add more milk or water; I added another 1/2 cup of milk.
In the same pan that you cooked the chicken in, add the roughly chopped onions and a little more oil if necessary.  Sautee until just starting to get soft, then add the jar of curry sauce and broccoli.  Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces, add to the sauce, and allow to simmer over low.
If you're lucky, your chicken mixture and rice will be ready around the same time.  Just before serving the rice, stir the lime zest in.

A

Awww, look at the cute little green flecks!

Spoon up some of the rice, and cover with yummy curry and eat it up!  It was enough for three people.