Toasted Coconut Chicken Curry with Jasmine Lime Rice

So remember i told you a while back i did not really get to experience much in the way of culturally different foods growing up?...well...back to Hollywood 1987.  I happened upon an amazing Thai restaurant one night.  The smell was like nothing i had smelled before...i had had Chinese food, but that smell was nothing like the aroma wafting out of Chan Dara.  It was on a sidestreet in between Hollywood Blvd. and Sunset.  I want to say Gower, but i know it wasn't Gower.  There was a crowd of people outside on the sidewalk waiting for their tables.  The aroma stopped me in my tracks and I made my way in.  The front of the house was run by a really effeminate Asian boy and a gaggle of gorgeous, runway worthy Asian girls.  The energy inside was absolutely electric.  I ordered a dish that i figured would be relatively safe...Sweet and Sour Chicken...holy crap is was good.  It was chunks of white meat chicken stir fried in an amazingly light sweet glaze with crisp carrots, onions and cucumber.  This dish was unbelievable.  Long story short...I love me some Thai food til this day!  I decided on curry for this one because i have always wanted to make a curry from scratch.  For some odd reason...coconut milk and curry popped into my head.  I used Jasmine rice and kicked it up with the lime zest...there is really nothing better than Jasmine rice for soaking up a hearty Thai sauce like coconut curry.

What you will need:

2 cans of coconut milk (i used a light version)
2 chiken breasts cubed
2 sweet potatoes cubed
1 large sweet yellow onion cubed
1 red bell pepper chopped in large chunks
1 1/2 tbs curry powder
1 tbs sugar
2 cups jasmine rice
zest of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic chopped fine
2 tbs olive
2 tsp white pepper

How to make it happen:

I like to cook my rice in a rice cooker.  I added the garlic and the lime zest at he start and let it fuse while it cooked...perfect rice.  I parbaked the sweet potatoes and let them rest in an ice bath while i put the rest together.  The ice bath stops the cooking process and keeps them really crisp.  Whisk together the coconut milk, curry powder and white pepper and set aside.  Heat the oil in a wok and toss in the chicken.  The onions are next followed at last by the red peppers...i like my veggies al dente...so i really do a light stir fry on them to maintain that crispness.  Add the coconut curry and bring up to temp.  Once it is good and hot toss in the sweet potatoes and let them get good and hot.  I toasted off a handfull of shredded coconut to toss on after plating...it gives a really nice crunch.  This dish turned out really nice..i can't wait to play around with it and see about bringing a little more heat next time.  I really love food that is attached to great memories...Thai food is like that for me.  Awesome memories of a silly little county boy discovering all things new in the City of Angels.