HotHead/ ChiliMonster - Hot Sauces + Spicy Foods

Feeling the gnaw of a bit of hunger in my belly earlier tonight, I made up this red hot recipe from scratch. Pictured above, you can see most of the ingredients of this very savoury stew: minced chicken, onion slivers, garden tomatoes (straight from the backyard), peas, potatoes, cashews.

Ingredient

• 1 tbsp cooking oil - canola, vegetable, or olive (the latter burns easily, so be careful).
• 1/2 cup of ground chicken
• 1 tsp Crushed red pepper flake
• 1-2 tsp Vietnamese/ Thai red chili paste (also known as sambal oelek)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 small onion, cut in slivers
• 1 small pre-boiled potato, medium diced
• 2 small garden tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges each
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 1-3 tbsp curry powder, depending on your tolerance
• 2-3 cups water
• 1 tbsp cornstarch diluted in about 1/2 cup water [optional]
• 5-7 partially crushed roasted cashews. (If you don't have roasted/ toasted cashews, just heat some up for 2 minutes in a bare non-stick pan with no lubricant, tossing occasionally to prevent burning.)

Preparation

• Heat cooking oil at medium high in a large (10"+) non-stick frying pan.
• Add ground chicken and break up pieces with a spatula.
• Brown the chicken. When it is nearly brown, sprinkle on red pepper flake, add chili paste, salt and black pepper and onions. Saute for 2 minutes.
• Add diced potatoes, tomato wedges, and peas. Saute for 2 minutes, breaking up tomatoes until they start to become a paste.
• Sprinkle on curry powder, then add 1 cup water and stir. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for about 2 minutes.
• Add another cup of water and let simmer for another 2 minutes.
• Add the final cup of water and let simmer until the liquid is almost thick.
• If you like a very thick stew, add another 1/2 cup of water and let simmer for 1 minute. Drizzle in diluted corn starch, then gently mix into the dish. Turn off the heat immediately and move the pan off the heat.
• Sprinkle on the broken cashews.

Presentation
Serve on steamed rice, or with toasted pita points.

(c) Copyright 2005-present, Raj Kumar Dash, http://chilimonster.blogspot.com

Technorati : cashew, chicken, hot food, spicy food