Curried Rice with Chicken

Originally this recipe was called Curry Glazed Chicken and it didn’t have rice or vegetables in it at all. But I have no problem with altering recipes both to provide more complete nutrition and also to stay within a budget. Meat tends to be pretty expensive compared to vegetables and rice and so this recipe morphed into a mostly meatless main dish.

Also a word about spices—don’t buy into the hype that you must replace all your spices every three days or something silly like that. If you can still taste the flavor, why would you replace your spices? Plus spices aren’t always cheap. We’ve found that if you shop the ethnic aisle of your supermarket you can often find what you need for less than the same product housed in the spice aisle. And don’t overlook online sources. We get a lot of ours from Herbco, including the curry powder I use in this recipe.

As written, this recipe serves two. You can easily double it though.

Ingredients:

1 C cooked rice (I use brown rice and steam it outside in my trusty steamer)
1 boneless, skinless chicken thigh, cooked (sauté it, bake it, microwave it—whatever works for you) and diced
1 inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled and finely diced
¼ C honey
1 T Dijon style mustard
2 T curry powder (adjust for your own taste buds—remember, we like it hot)
½ white onion, coarsely chopped
1/3 C frozen peas
1 small or ½ medium carrot, peeled and diced. Note: I omitted the carrot this particular day because I served the Spicy Carrot Salad with it.
1 T canola oil

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan large enough to hold all the ingredients. Sauté the chopped onion.
2. Meanwhile, in a microwave proof bowl, mix the honey, mustard and curry powder together. Heat in the microwave until the honey is fairly runny.
3. (If you are using carrots, add them to the saucepan and continue cooking until cooked through, probably about five minutes.)
4. Add the ginger and continue to sauté.
5. Add the peas and chicken and heat thoroughly. If the pan gets a bit dry or things are sticking too much, add a little water or a bit more oil.
6. Add the rice and the sauce.
7. Mix thoroughly and let the sauce heat through.
8. Enjoy!