Amazingly easy coconut curry crockpot chicken

Here's one to keep you warm this winter. Recently we ended up buying some chicken breast meat that was less than tender, and I decided to use it in a crockpot recipe to ensure it was fully tenderized at a low, slow heat. You could easily start this in the morning and leave it all day long cooking on low.

It's also a great way to get into asian cooking that involves some ingredients not generally found in American pantries. Take a drive to your favorite asian food market - Long Cheng market on Bellinger Street in Eau Claire is my personal favorite.

Fish sauce has a strange smell on its own and I don't encourage you to deliberately taste it. However, when paired with curries, it lends a lovely savory flavor.

Shrimp paste is another ingredient I don't encourage you to try - or even catch a whiff of - on its own. It smells like fish food. But it definitely will add the authentic flavor you need in this dish. Of all the ingredients, you can omit this one to still have you dish turn out. However, for a couple bucks you can pick up a container and you will want to add this to your curries from now on.

Coconut milk is not completely foreign to most people. It's sometimes found in desserts. Make sure the kind you buy is not "lite" or the curry won't turn out right. Also, don't buy cream of coconut. It's a bit too rich for this dish.

Igredients:
1.5 pounds raw, washed and diced chicken breast meat
1.5 pounds potatoes (either peeled or unpeeled, your preference) washed and cubed into medium size pieces
2 large peppers (red or green) cut into 2-3 inch long strips
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. shrimp paste
1 (14 ounce) can of Swanson's chicken broth
1 (13 ounce) can of coconut milk (not the lite version, please)
1/2 of a small to medium onion, diced or food processed (Add atleast 2 Tbsp. of onion powder if you really hate onions)
8-10 garlic cloves, peeled and diced (or food processed)
2 tsp. your favorite curry powder
red pepper flakes to taste (near the very end)

Well, go ahead, combine everything into the crockpot. Give it a few gentle stirs until everything is combined roughly. Set it on low. Simmer for 6-8 hours, or a minimum of 4. Add your red pepper flakes at the end if you want to add additional heat. Oh, and serve over your favorite cooked rice. To get rice cooking tips, check HERE.