January (Charles)

(Cheats, Me, and Sam in Italy)

Cheats’ Curry Recipe

In a wok:
1 TBS of olive oil
2 TBS of Thai Curry Paste (I prefer Red because it isn't as hot, so you add more to get even more flavor with a similar heat to the green... change the amount according to taste)
1 TBS of brown sugar

Heat these three things up for a minute on high heat so the paste mixes with the sugar and becomes a goop.

3-5 chicken breasts cut up into cubes

Zest 1 lime

Chop up a full handful of Cilantro (I like lots, but again, do it according to taste. The more the merrier for me.)

Put the chicken, lime zest, and cilantro in the wok and cook it on a relatively high heat for 3-4 minutes so the chicken becomes HALF COOKED. The cilantro and lime make it smell awesome. The cilantro is really important I find... if you don't like it you should at least try it once - it may change your mind.

Dump a can of coconut milk in with the chicken and lower heat to about 2-3. Then you can put in chopped vegetables if you like (I like peppers, zucchini, finely chopped carrots). Also squeeze limejuice into the mix (half a lime maybe). Put in 1-2 TBS of fish sauce.

It should take 25-35 minutes. Make some basmati or jasmine rice and Naan while you wait. Get drunk on Corona... whatever suits your taste. If you are making a shit load of food use twice as much curry paste, sugar, fish sauce, lime, and 2 cans of coconut milk.

Gastrography
My first year of college, I went to school in New Brunswick, Canada. I left the south and headed for a cold wintry year at St. Stephen’s University. The school was located in St. Stephen right on the border of Maine and Canada and the building in which I lived, an old hotel that Marylyn Monroe actually stayed in at one time, overlooked the St. Croix river into America. It was a weird experience to be out of one’s country but still able to look at it every day. Michael Cheatly was one of the many amazing people that I met up in Canada, and he was the one to give me this recipe.

The Canadians, at least the ones I lived with, love curry. It is a great dish to eat during the cold winter months because it literally warms you from the inside out. While the curry might not be spicy to your palate, you might find yourself starting to sweat halfway through the meal. Do not worry, this is normal. I had many different kinds of curry dishes in Canada, mostly homemade, but this recipe is the best one I had hands down. The first time I actually tried Cheats’ curry was in Paris. We were traveling together with twenty-five fellow students and professors throughout Europe for two months. We camped the entire time, and the students were broken up into cooking groups. Cheats’ group made his curry, and I could not get enough of it. I have not seen Cheats in three years, but I still cook this recipe at least once a month. The layout of the recipe may be awkward, but I wanted to reserve the document as he emailed it to me. While we may not see each other anymore, I still think about Cheats and the Canadians every time I make this dish.