Coconut Lime Chicken w/ Green Curry

In Calgary, we got hit with a gross winter storm last night & this morning (out of no-where it seems) so naturally, I had to make a warming coconut curry dish. As soon as the weather gets even a little cold, my body immediately craves warm, comforting and nourishing dishes. This coconut curry dish has warming spices like cinnamon and curry plus loads of ginger and garlic to help strengthen that digestive fire. I paired this with a coconut + black bean jasmine rice dish and they tasted amazing together.

Now, with curries, it seems like you usually need quite a few random ingredients. I have found a few recipes that are more basic and only have a few ingredients. I’m sure they still taste good but with my experience with curries, I find that those “random ingredients” are the ones that usually give the best flavors! The good thing about those ingredients is that they usually last a looong time as you only ever need a little bit at a time. For example: fish sauce + curry pastes. I’ve had both of these for a long time and have used them many times and I still have quite a bit left. #win. So while it seems like the ingredient list is excessive, I promise you that this curry dish will not only taste amazing but once you have these ingredients on hand, you will be able to make MANY more different curry dishes 🙂

Coconut Lime Chicken w/ Green Curry

3 chicken breasts – cut into smaller chunks
2-3 tbsp cooking oil – I used coconut oil
4-5 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp curry powder (you can add more if preferred)
1 tsp cumin powder (you can add more if preferred)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp green curry paste (see note below for why I chose this type of curry)
2-3 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 fresh lime – juiced >>TIP: I used an actual lime juicer and it yields much more liquid than just using your hand to squeeze it
3 cups coconut milk – full fat
1 cup broth – low sodium
2 cups broccoli chopped
1 red pepper chopped into smaller chunks
1/2 – 1 tsp fish sauce
1-2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp corn starch + 1 tbsp water to thicken (see note below on this)
3 tbsp hemp hearts
Salt + pepper to taste – I didn’t actually need to add any salt but I did add a lot of pepper

Directions

1. In a frying pan over low-medium heat, add chicken pieces and cooking oil and saute up until chicken is cooked. While it’s cooking, add cracked pepper, add minced garlic, garlic powder, and onion powder.
2. Once chicken is cooked, add curry powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, green curry paste, fresh grated ginger, lime juice, coconut milk, and broth and whisk together. Mix in with the chicken and turn heat down to just over low heat. Let this simmer and let the flavors infuse together for 13-15 minutes. Stir occasionally. I also recommend taste testing and adjusting the spices to your liking.
3. Once you have let this simmer for a little while, add in the broccoli and place a lid on pan to let the broccoli steam cook. Once the broccoli is softer, add in the red pepper. Let this cook up for a few minutes then taste test again.
4. Now, I like my curries a bit thicker. Here is when I mixed together 1 tbsp corn starch to 1 tbsp water in a bowl and then added it to the curry. Then, mix it all together and let this cook up for a few more minutes. This is how I prefer to thicken most of my dishes up but you can use what ever you would prefer 🙂
5. While the curry is thickening up, add in the honey and hemp hearts. Taste test and adjust to your preference.

Side dishes that this pairs well with:

• Coconut black bean rice. Simply cook up your jasmine rice with half coconut milk + half broth instead of just plain water and add in 1/2 – 1 cup of cooked black beans with a bit of fresh lime juice, salt and pepper. Cook up all together according to rice package and taste test when it’s all done.
• A simple greens salad. This curry dish has so much flavor that you really only need a simple salad.
• Herbed quinoa or regular brown rice.

Green curry note: I chose green curry over red curry because it gives an unique curry flavor. I find it less heavier than red curry and it pairs well with coconut & lime flavors.
Corn starch note: This is how I prefer to thicken up some of my dishes. I haven’t experimented with some of the g/f thickeners on the market but if any of you have, please leave your experiences in the comments section – I’d love some new ideas! 

For the jasmine rice dish, here is what I did:
** I cooked my rice by following what was on the package so make sure you look at yours to make sure you cook it properly! **

1. I rinsed 1 cup of jasmine rice under cold water for a minute, strain well and add to a medium pot. Then, I added 3/4 cup coconut milk (full fat) + 1/2 cup low sodium broth + 1/2 cup cooked black beans + cracked black pepper. I brought this to a boil and gave it a good stir.
2. Then, I covered it with a lid and simmered on low for 10-12 minutes. I checked on it around 9 minutes (which I know you’re not supposed to do until it’s done ha-ha but I have a looong history of burning rice on the stove top so I had to make sure it wasn’t burning). At about 10 minutes, there was no water left but it still wasn’t as cooked as I wanted it to be, so I added a few generous splashes of broth along with a small squeeze of lime juice + pinch of salt and gave it a stir. Then covered it and let it cook for another few minutes.
3. When it was done, I removed it from the heat and stirred in a few tbsp hemp hearts, then placed the lid back on for a few more minutes.

I have loved hemp hearts for a long time. It stems back from when I was first vegetarian and then vegan and I used these as a main staple in my diet. Fast forward 3 years later and they are still a big part of my daily (non vegan) diet. I was so excited to become a Manitoba Harvest hemp ambassador a few months ago because it involved a company that I have supported for a long time. Being an ambassador with them basically means they will send me different products from their company and I can experiment with recipes and help educate people on the benefits of hemp hearts. They do not pay me to post about their products. I wanted to make a note on this because you will be seeing hemp hearts in most of my Instagram and blog posts and I may include pictures of their products. I will always state my honest opinion and feedback on their products. I wanted to highlight this and let you know that I will always be completely transparent and post whether or not it’s an ad and if the company is paying me or not to post about them. Plus, I will never partner up with a company that doesn’t align with my core values 🙂 If you have any questions, please DM me!

I hope you try out this recipe next time you are craving a nourishing and warming meal on a chilly night. Let me know how it turns out <3

Marcy xo