I have ONE stipulation for our Airstream Kitchen…

I GOTTA be able to make Japanese Curry. On the regular. That’s it. That’s my one and only stipulation for the kitchen in the Airstream.

Due to Valentine’s Day yesterday, we didn’t work on Stella this weekend. I’m not severely mad about it; it was freezing this weekend anyway! We spent our Valentine’s Day at Ikea looking for things we could use in our Airstream once we get to that phase of our reno, plus of course buying a few things for our house. And today, well, let’s just say we are (really) late to the Breaking Bad party and we’ve been watching episodes like it’s our job. Thanks Amazon TV. So I thought in lieu of progress pictures this weekend, I’d share our most favorite recipe probably ever.

I was given the great opportunity of living in Japan for a few years in high school and if there is one thing I miss most about Japan, it’s the food. Really, most everyone I know from my Japan days misses the same thing. Most specifically, CoCo’s curry. In my opinion, there is no curry greater than Japanese curry, and no better place to get it than CoCo’s.. unless of course, you live in America with no CoCo’s at your disposal. Lucky for you, I’ve got a way to curb that insatiable hunger for Japanese curry that won’t cost you thousands of dollars and a 15 hour flight. And it’s so easy, you can make it every week if you want!

CARISSA’S COCO’S CHICKEN CURRY

Ingredients:

• 1 packet S&B Golden Curry (any spice you would like; we buy medium-hot) [see picture above]
• Vegetable oil
• 1 lb chicken breast (we usually buy stir-fry cut)
• 1-2 eggs
• Flour
• Panko
• Spices to flavor the panko (we use garlic salt, cayenne pepper, onion powder)
• Sharp cheddar cheese
• Rice
• Naan bread (smothered in butter preferably)

Directions:

1. Make your rice. We have a rice cooker, so this is always step one for us, however if you don’t have a rice cooker, time the making of your rice to sort of line up with the finishing of your chicken & curry; fresh warm rice is best!
2. If you buy chicken that isn’t already prepared for you, cut it up into thin strips. 1 inch to ½ inch is what I prefer. If they’re too long, I cut them in half (even if I buy the pre-cut chicken, I usually cut in half). I like ’em small because I don’t care for the taste of chicken.
3. Make your breading station. I usually set out 3 bowls and put flour in one, eggs in another, and panko with seasonings in the third. I don’t measure the seasonings, just sprinkle till I think it looks good and will be flavorful enough for all the chicken I have to bread – then mix it in with the panko!
4. In a large skillet, warm up your vegetable oil over medium heat. I like to let my oil warm up while I prep the chicken so it’s nice and hot – ready for me to fry once I’m done breading. I’ve found on my stove that medium/high is best, but closer to medium than high.
5. Bread the chicken pieces. Flour first, eggs second, panko third. It’s a messy job but someone’s gotta do it! Put all your prepared chicken on a plate so you can take it all to the stove at once.
6. Fry the chicken! Fry it up in batches – don’t want to over crowd the pan. Usually it takes 3-4 batches, and you want the chicken to be a nice golden brown. But check step 7 before you start!
7. Half way through frying the chicken, bring 2.5 cups of water to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, break up the block of curry and add the whole broken up block to the water. Whisk it up really good and let it simmer for a few minutes while whisking, then tun off the heat. It should thicken up some with time & heat. (But if you’re impatient and don’t want to wait for it to thicken, it’s just as good thin!)
8. Once the chicken has all been fried, your curry has set up, and your rice has finished preparing, it’s time to eat! We have a specific assembly protocol in my house; a heaping serving of rice first, followed by a layer of fried chicken spread across the top of the rice, a healthy sprinkling (or handful) of sharp cheddar cheese over the chicken & rice, and ALL topped off with the curry sauce. The more, the merrier! You can never have too much as far as I’m concerned.

ALSO:

• I buy my curry packets at Walmart… and surely if they have the curry at our local small town MO Walmart, they’ll have it at yours!
• At CoCo’s in Japan, they give you the option of adding vegetables to their curry which is also delicious – everything from potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, onions, green beans, bamboo shoots, Japanese vegetables, and more. I really like the potatoes and onions so occasionally I’ll throw them in, but 99% of the time we just stick to meat & cheese. Feel free to add veggies if you’d like!
• In Japan, you can also get the curry at a spice level anywhere from 1-10 and it gets PRETTTTY spicy… if you’d like it spicier and can only find the mild curry packet, just add some cayenne to the mix. Even the medium-hot isn’t spicy.
• Be warned that once you have this curry once, you WILL be addicted. And you WILL want it. Weekly. It’s THAT good. And if you don’t like it.. well………. I’m judging. TOTALLY judging.