Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Hawaiian Cuisine: Chicken and Coconut Milk

I hesitated for the briefest of seconds when I read the recipe for Chicken and Coconut Milk (pg 54), because I couldn't imagine how the five ingredients listed--chicken breast, coconut milk, chicken broth, spinach, and salt--could possibly amount to much. Lured by the fact that I already had all the ingredients and wouldn't have to run to the store, I forged ahead with it anyway. After all, the teeny intro says "This is a quick Hawaiian favorite that can look as if you cooked all day." Yeah, right. Nice one, Chef Choy. You got me. I should have listened to my gut.
This wasn't awful, but it's nothing I would make again. It basically tastes like chicken soup. Bland chicken soup, with no carrots or onions. All you do is simmer chunked chicken breast in the broth and coconut milk, for about an hour, then add the spinach and some salt. I expected the liquid to simmer down to a thicker sauce, but it didn't.

Conclusion: Just okay. We ate our portions, but neither of us went back for seconds.

I have much higher hopes for the next few days, because I've got my eye on several seafood recipes, which, presumably, would be Hawaiian cooking's strong suit. We shall see!


2 comments:

  1. Hmm...that's the odd thing about coconut milk. I always except it to be sweet. Too bad you didn't care for the dish. It looks great, though!

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  2. Boo. Hiss. Boring chicken. I'm sure the seafood will be better! And you MUST do something with spam :)

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