This post brought to you by Malaysia Kitchen for the World. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Surf and Sunshine.

A couple of months ago I had the great pleasure of traveling to Malaysia for an unforgettable week. It was everything one desires out of a trip abroad. I saw things I could never seen in my “own back yard”, made new friends, had some great laughs and of course tried tons of new food. Oh the food! In a way, Malay food reminds me of American food – the dishes there have a little influence from a lot of different places, predominately Malay, Chinese, and Indian food traditions, with Indonesian, Thai, Portuguese and Middle Eastern influences.

Malaysian cuisine likes to combine complex flavors like curry, turmeric, cardamom, lemongrass, ginger and tamarind (to name a few) to create dishes that have multiple layers of flavors. A prime example of these ingredients working together is Curry, which I had a LOT of during my time in Malaysia. In fact, it was included in almost every meal.

Unfortunately, to make good curry from scratch requires a long list of ingredients. Unless you make curry or other asian influenced dishes often, these ingredients tend to go to waste, which is why I’m a huge fan of taking a few shortcuts in my mostly home made meals. I’m also a fan of using just a few great ingredients to make flavorful family favorites (say that 3x fast). 

Which brings me to my latest recipe, Mango Chicken Curry. Except for seasoning (salt, pepper and garlic) this recipe calls for only 6 ingredients, thanks to a little help from the Lemongrass Coconut Curry Sauce made by that I picked up on Amazon while the rest of the ingredients are fresh from the meat and farmers markets. 

6 Ingredient Mango Chicken Curry Recipe

Ingredients

• 2TBS  Butter
• 1/2 Sweet Onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 Chicken Breast, chopped. 
• 2pck Lemongrass Coconut Curry Sauce
• 1/2 LG Ripe Mango, peeled and chopped. 
• 1 Package of Rice in a Bag

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil and cook rice as directed. 
2. Over medium heat bring the butter to a sizzle and allow the onions to cook for 3 minutes.
3. Toss in chopped chicken breast and season with Salt, Pepper and Garlic to your taste. Allow to cook about 7-10 minutes.
4. Once the chicken has cooked, turn your burner to low and slowly add 2 packets of Lemongrass Coconut Curry Sauce. Immediately follow with the chopped Mango minus a few tablespoons for garnish.
5. Allow to simmer for an additional 10 minutes on low, stirring occasionally. 
6. Garnish with remaining Mango. 

Curry is one of those dishes that is almost indescribable. In a traditional curry dishes you have all of these different seasonings working together – there is a little bit of spicy, a little bit of savory and a little bit of something you can only taste to know. It’s really a game changer adding in the fresh mango. As you eat a curry dish, the heat starts to build in your mouth but suddenly you get a bite of this quietly sweet mango and suddenly the heat and spice are balanced out. I have never cooked with mango before, preferring to eat it raw, however the texture is a complement to the textures at work between the sauce, chicken and rice. It really is the perfect pairing.

What is your favorite Malaysian dish?

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