Honey, I Fried the Chicken Curry!

I don't even know where to begin... it's just that life took a different rhythm for me lately and I can't seem to find the grace and balance to dance to the new beat. Most of you who've been following my blog will know how much my life has centered on my family. So it may come as a surprise to hear that I accepted a job in L.A. L.A.???

“You accepted a job in L.A.? But you live in San Diego…“, is the comment that many friends make when they hear about my new job. “So do you commute or have you moved to L.A.?” is the next question people ask. My answer is both.

So for the past week, I tried to dance to the LA beat, but somehow I miss the calming rhythm of San Diego. Instead of waking up with the sun brightly shining upon my face amidst the quiet stillness of the Carmel Valley community I live in San Diego, the noise that the City of Angels makes awakens me long before daybreak. I imagine myself inside a high school band room, where hormone-induced teens bang their musical instruments …clashing cymbals resemble the sound of cars honking their horns, and the loud trombone is like the siren of a fire engine or the cacophony made by the hydraulic brakes of the city buses. Instead of taking an easy drive in the rolling hills of San Diego, I spend 3 hours per day in what seems to me to be the largest parking lot in the world, as cars slowly creep their way along the L.A. freeway. Some days, I find myself taking the train to L.A., then by bus and walking the remaining 2 blocks to my office, with a prayer in my heart that I won't be the next victim of a random crime in the city. “What have I done?” I would disapprovingly ask myself at this point.

It is funny how life can be sometimes, when an epiphany came from a George Clooney line in a random movie called “The Men Who Stare at Goats”. Clooney spoke about "optimum trajectory”. Huh? Well, in his theory he explained “…life is like a river... if you are aiming for a goal that is not your destiny you will be swimming against the current. Find out your destiny and let the river carry you to where you are supposed to be."

Is this my destiny? While other people complain about the scarcity of jobs, I was extremely fortunate to have this job seemingly fall on my lap. And each detail about the job was revealed to me in a most serendipitous way, way too much to be a coincidence, even for me.

So it’s all up to me whether to look at it as a wrong decision or a make it into a good one. My daughter came up to me and said, “It’s not that you’re leaving us mom, you are finding yourself. For most of your life you took care of us, I’m already 18 and leaving for college in a few months. Joey will be off to college next year too. Now you can think about yourself, you have to find yourself...”

I realized that there is a whole new world out there for me, an uncertain, but nevertheless exciting, future to look forward to. So now, when I run to catch my bus, I take it as a chance to lose a pound or two. When I hear the “city noise” early in the morning, it is a reminder that life should be vibrant and “always on the move”. And when I take my seat on the train, I enjoy the indelible beauty of the Pacific, with the sun slowly rising or sinking, either breaking into a new day or lazily fading away as night falls, marking the start or the end of another fruitful day.

“I thought I smelled chicken curry” said my husband as he sat down for dinner.

“Yes Honey, I fried the chicken curry!”

We both smiled, as we know that life is all about perspectives.

Like this fried chicken curry for example, it’s a different take on a well-loved dish from the Far East, preserving the curry “goodness” while incorporating the fried texture that many of us love and crave for in chicken. While some may not like the veering away from the traditional dish this recipe does, others will have fun with the innovative mix of the curry with the fried chicken

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FRIED CHICKEN CURRY

Ingredients

1 package of chicken thighs

Salt and pepper to taste

For breading:

1 c flour
salt &pepper
2 tbsp curry powder  (well adjust this according to your preference)
salt and pepper to taste

Fill a large skillet (cast iron is best) about half full with vegetable oil. Heat until VERY hot.. Meanwhile, roll the chicken pieces into the breading. Shake off excess flour. Drop 5-6 pieces into the hot oil. Make sure there's enough space to stir the chicken. Deep fry it until golden brown. Drain the fried chicken. It should be crispy goden brown.

For the gravy:

1 tbsps. cooking oil

1 cloves of garlic
1 small onions, chopped
1/4 c chicken stock
1-2 tbsps curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 c coconut milk

In a wok, saute garlic and onions in cooking oil.  Pour the coconut milk together with the chicken stock.  Spice up using the curry powder. I like to make my curry rich and flavorful so I used around 2 round table spoons. You may want to add 1 tbsps first and adjust it according to your taste.  Bring the mixture to a boil until it's reduced.  The sauce should be thick and creamy.