Red Curry Chicken Kebabs with Yogurt-Mint Sauce

As I’ve mentioned before, I look forward to the rare nights when my lovely wife is going to be out for some reason for dinner, and I am left to fend for myself.  Tonight, Steph was going to go out with her friend Beth, a fellow English teacher who is off to the Azores next year, teaching in the DoDEA.  While I enjoy spending time with Beth and hearing about her international jaunts (she’s taught in Japan & Germany, and has traveled extensively through Europe, Asia and Africa.  We get tons of postcards), they were off for some English teacher geek bonding while watching Shakespeare, so I respectfully declined, especially since it meant I could cook something particularly spicy.

According to Wikipedia, red curry paste is made from red chili peppers, shallots, garlic, galangal (which is a not-as-hot relative of ginger), lemongrass, coriander roots, peppercorns, salt, shrimp paste (fermented ground shrimp) and zest from kaffir limes (a variety of Asian lime).  These are ingredients that, unless you live close to a well-stocked Asian market, are going to be virtually impossible to find.  While I am fortunate enough to live within 20 minutes of one, I went with the convenience of a pre-made jar of red curry paste.

Outside of that, this dish was quick, easy, relatively healthy (4 points per serving, for those keeping track of such things), with a decent heat, although not as much as I expected.  Maybe I’ll convince Steph to let me make her a dish with a little bit of red curry paste sneaked in one day?

Question: If you know your significant other isn’t around, what are you cooking for yourself?

Red Curry Chicken Kebabs with Yogurt-Mint Sauce
Adapted from Food & Wine – Serves 8

2.5 tbsp thai red curry paste
.5 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp kosher salt
2.5 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1″ cubes
.75 c plain lowfat yogurt
.25 c light mayonnaise
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp mint, finely chopped

Mix curry paste with oil and salt. Add chicken cubes and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature, up to 2 hours or cover and refrigerate overnight.

Light a grill. Whisk together yogurt, mayonnaise, honey, lime juice and mint and season with salt.

Thread chicken onto 8 skewers, leaving .25″ between cubes. Grill over moderately high heat, turning frequently, until lightly charred and cooked through, 8 minutes. Serve the kebabs with the yogurt on the side, and with steamed white rice (if desired).