Curried Coconut Chicken

This is a favorite of ours. You can add even more chicken if you're cooking for a lot of people, there's plenty of sauce. We love to eat it with Thai Cucumber Salad. I usually add additional curry paste to this recipe to get it to the spiciness that we like. Curry pastes vary a lot by brand, so try a little at a time if you're not sure.

Ingredients
4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons curry powder

curry paste (optional, I usually add about 1TBS)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons sugar

Directions
Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
Heat oil and curry powder (and paste, if desired) in a large skillet over medium-high heat for five minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 5 minute more. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear.
Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. (Sometimes I let it simmer uncovered for a few hours to let the sauce thicken).

Serve over rice.

Thai Cucumber Salad

This salad is a must when we cook Indian or Thai food, but I like it with anything grilled as well.

3 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/4 sugar

1/4 water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 an onion, chopped

1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

In a small saucepan, heat water, sugar, vinegar, and salt until sugar has dissolved. Cool. Pour over cucumber and onion. Stir in cilantro. Refrigerate. Add peanuts just before serving.