Pan Fried Mango Curry Chicken

This is getting to be one long detour post from the Taiwan blog posts series, but oh well.

Last Labor day (May 1, 2009), I decided to try out Jaden Hair's Easy Pan Fried Mango Curry Chicken. Of course, it's not fair if you're going to compare our food porn - so please don't. I know I'm still a long way before I can accomplish food design and photography as the masters.

Jaden Hair's:

Mine:

The only chicken pieces left at home are the skinny, bony ones - but since I've already set my mind on making this dish, I had to make do with what's available. I think it worked out just fine (although it was a struggle seeing more bones than meat)

Lesson learned: don't trust people when they say "we still have chicken in the refrigerator", check if they're the chicken pieces you need!

So here's Steamy Kitchen's recipe:
I just loved the fact that she didn't put any measurements - she just gave me full control over the recipe on what tastes I want to emphasize or tone down.

Pan-Fried Mango Curry Chicken

Ingredients:
Free-range chicken - cut up or 2 chicken pieces per person, skin and bones to remain in place
Olive oil
Sea salt
Curry powder - a big pinch
Freshly ground black pepper
Butter - a thick slice
Garlic cloves, 8 large, sweet cloves
White wine - a large wine glass
Mango - a nice firm, but ripe one, cut up into large chunks
Herbs - a few sprigs of parsley, minced

Procedure:
"Place chicken in a large bowl and rub the chicken all over with a drizzle olive oil. Season the chicken with the salt, curry powder and black pepper.

Heat a large skillet or pan (pan can have high sides or be shallow, but it must have a lid) on high heat with enough olive oil to make a small puddle in the bottom, then add the butter. Once the butter starts to froth, add the chicken pieces, skin side down. Keep the heat moderately high heat while they color to a pale and relatively even gold.

In the meantime, smash the garlic cloves with the side of your knife so that they flatten but remain fairly intact, and peel off the skin. Throw the garlic cloves into the pan. Turn down the heat to medium-low so that the fat under the chicken skin is gently fizzing. Cover with tight-fitting lid. You’ll cook about 35-40 minutes, turning the chicken over halfway through cooking.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove the chicken onto a platter and cover loosely with tin foil to keep warm. Tip the pan slightly and spoon out most of the fat. Turn the heat to high and add the white wine and let it bubble. Use a wooden spatula to scrape and loosen the golden bits and the sweet, soft garlic cloves in the pan. Turn the heat down a bit and add the mango chunks and minced parsley. Let simmer for 1 minute. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning - you may have to add some salt or pepper. Spoon over chicken."

Another recipe that goes into the will-cook-this-again roster. The family finished everything, and we even used the remaining sauce with our fish fingers. Tastiness galore.