Kinda Like Canadian Curry, Except With Cajones

Curries as we know them in the West are largely bastardized versions of those meals with the same name enjoyed in various regions of the Indian subcontinent. For example, this household's favorite Canadian curry really bears little resemblance to an honest Indo-Pakistani curry. Does that prevent everyone here at Chez Boeckman-Walker from devouring it every time I make it? Hell no!

Every now and then, I find I'm too lazy to make that very simple, far-removed-from-its-roots dish yet crave the flavors. Luckily, I happened upon a recipe while searching for recipes combining jerk seasoning and chicken that could make it easier for us to enjoy that treat of alleged Canadian origins but also satisfy our hankering from some heat too.

Joel's Jerk Chicken Pineapple Pasta1 T olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 8-oz. can pineapple tidbits with juice
1/4 C shredded coconut
2 T brown sugar
1 t jerk seasoning mix
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 oz. dry fettuccini noodles

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
   
2. Cook and stir the chicken until no longer pink and its juices run clear, 7-10 min.
   
3. Stir in the pineapple and its juice, coconut, brown sugar, jerk seasoning, cinnamon, chili powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
   
4. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 min.
   
5. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
   
6. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 8-10 min., then drain.
   
7. Toss the chicken mixture with drained pasta.

Yield: 2

Nutritional Info
Calories: 628
Fat: 19.5 g
Protein: 35.1 g
Fiber: 6.3 g
Carbs: 79.2 g
Na: 492 mg

The Faudie's Futzings
Okay, the name of the recipe doesn't make the dish seem at all like something I'd make, right? I think I've well established that I'm not a pasta person. (That would be my little sister, the pasta and cheese queen.) However, I saw potential in the recipe, and here are the many ways I futzed with it:

• I didn't use pasta at all. I made instead two cups of basmati rice. Why two cups, you ask, Gentle Reader? Because I know the boy. If he doesn't like a dish, he'll at least eat a lot of rice.
  
• I didn't use a full tablespoon of olive oil. Maybe a teaspoon.
• I used a regular saucepan instead of a skillet, and I didn't combine my rice and chicken before serving. Instead, I served the finished chicken dish on a bed of rice in a bowl for each human resident of Chez Boeckman-Walker (as illustrated).
  
• Since I used Splenda brown sugar, I only used a tablespoon of the stuff.
  
• Speaking of Splenda, I bought reduced-sugar pineapple tidbits from Dole, which feature Splenda. And I used the whole 20-ounce can, not just 8 ounces as specified by the recipe. After all, I was feeding at least three people with hopeful plans for leftovers.
  
• I wasn't going to add the coconut flake originally, but I did--and wound up using probably a third of a cup because I found it was helping to thicken the sauce into a more curry-like consistency, which was my goal.

The use of spices called for in this recipe and the quantity called for could be further futzed with depending on what kind of jerk seasoning you buy, Gentle Reader. The stuff I scored at Central Markup's bulk foods playland is made of all those other spices listed in the recipe, so I felt a little silly adding more of each individually. However, if you have cajones-less jerk seasoning, feel free to add the called-for amount and then some to give your finished jerk chicken and pineapple curry a nice kick. If you have pretty fiery jerk seasoning, then omit the additional red pepper flakes and chili powder.

I suppose if you wanted to get a bit more authentic with this dish, you could toast your spices after you brown your meat. After all, the hallmark of a curry is that combination of toasted spices.

We ate our jerky curry with naan, which is always great for sopping up the juice of any curry. And it's one of the traditional ways of eating curry: In India, curry traditionally was eaten sans utensils, instead gobbled up with the help of one of a variety of traditional Indian flatbreads.

By the way, Gentle Reader, if you're interested in learning more about curry and its proud past, I highly recommend Lizzie Collingham's Curry: A Tale of Cooks & Conquerors. The book is not so much a specific history of curry but more a history of the many influences on Indian cuisine, as the subtitle suggests. Not only do you learn about India's food, you learn a bit of its history, which is woefully neglected in too many world history classes. (Hey, why should anyone care about the great accomplishments and histories of anyone but those folks who populated Europe? If it didn't happen in the West, it apparently didn't happen.)