A Tropical Vacation in My Kitchen

There is this commercial advertising ready-made food and it starts with a myth. It stated something along the lines that it is a myth that chopping and preparing food after a long day at work is therapeutic. It then went to show a bag of freezer food that is supposed to be a better source for therapy. All you need to do is throw it on a plate and pop it into the microwave and your day will turn to tranquility and happiness. In all honesty, that would probably depress me. Who REALLY wants to eat food that was made who knows how, sealed in a freezer pack and frozen for god knows how long before it made it to your microwave? Not to say I have never prepared myself one of those meals in my past, but really… Homemade food is so much better and chopping and preparing really does help heal my soul, especially when the food comes out so good I want to dance with it.

I wasn’t having the greatest day. My fingers began to ache after the 20 or so cover letters I typed up attempting to really be genuine to perspective employers. I’m frustrated and at times even depressed as I begin to doubt if I’ll ever find a job this year doing something I can value and enjoy. Remembering the amount of mush I got in high school about going to college and how it will guarantee a successful career for myself, really doesn’t seem to be owning up to the promise. A lot of people are in my boat, I know… A lot of people are struggling and searching for a job and I am definitely a lot better off because I am not alone in this battle. And even though some might love to be home all day and have an extensive TV schedule to follow (can’t miss my Dr. Phil or Oprah) but it really begins to drown a person when it’s not what you pictured 5 years ago in that college prep class you took in high school. I gave up around 3 p.m., decided to miss Dr. Phil and catch it on a re-run at around 9 p.m. and went to cooking.

Today’s meal is probably the reason for this blog. It is a recipe I invented out of sheer boredom and a sack of mangos I bought at the supermarket because the price was too good to pass. I wanted to see if I could actually make something without a recipe and actually have it turn out to be edible. Indeed it did and it actually began an ultimate favorite of ours. The salad was inspired by Susanna, who was the ultimate pusher for my blog. So this post is for Susachka =) I ate the tropical salsa at Susanna’s house one evening and wanted to make my own. Not asking her how she made it I just put some things together and called it my own.

This is a sweet dish and it does take a little prep time, but it’s delicious, I promise you that much!
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Tropical Chicken and Salsa

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Serves: 6 people (or 3 Hungry ones)

Ingredients

6 chicken breasts (bone in and skin on)
3 mangos
1 can of crushed pineapple
1 can of sliced pineapple
½ can of young coconut meat
2 medium red onions
2 small bunches of cilantro (or 1 large one split in ½)
2 tablespoons of corn starch
Salt and ground black pepper
¼ cup of olive oil
1 tablespoon of Chicken Soup Seasoning or soup mix
1 lime

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Peel all of the mangos with a potato peeler. Cut the sides of two of the mangos and put aside (cut against the seed). The rest of the meat on the mango should be shaven off the seed as much as possible. The other one can also be cut away from the seed (this will be for the chicken).It doesn’t matter how you cut them because no one will really notice.

Salsa: Take the 4 cut sides of the mangoes and slice them the long way into 3 thin layers. Then cut them into strips and dice them as small as possible. If you have the dicer you can use that to create uniform squares. Take 1 red onion and peel, and slice thin and dice as well. Take one bunch of cilantro, wash well, dry on paper towel and then finely chop it. Take the sliced pineapple and cut into strips and then dice into small squares. (I would not recommend putting the pineapples in the dicer, it mashed mine into juice the one time I tried it). Add 2 pinches of black pepper and salt and squeeze one lime into it. Mix well, cover and put into the refrigerator to marinade.

Chicken: In a small pot, chop the pieces of mangos roughly into medium sized pieces and put it in the pot. Take the mashed pineapple with the juice and throw it in the bowl. Take ½ a can of young coconut meat and chop it up roughly and then throw it into the pot. You can pour 1/3 of the juice from the can into the pot as well. Take the 2 tablespoons of corn starch and mix it into the pot. Simmer the pot on a medium flame till the sauce comes to a bubble. Put the pot in the freezer for a quick cool (about 15 minutes). Make sure to put down a towel or heat protector below the pot so it doesn’t burn the freezer.

In a deep dish tray, take the chicken wash it well and pat it dry. Cut any excess skin or fat from the sides of the chicken. Put the chicken top down in the tray. In a little bowl put the oil, chicken seasoning and a teaspoon of black pepper and mix. Brush the chicken thoroughly with the oil mix getting in every creak and even rubbing it underneath the skin. Flip the chicken over and do the same. Take the sauce out of the freezer and lay the sauce around the chicken and lay a little amount on top of each chicken as well.
For the last step, take the second red onion and dice it finely like you did for the salsa. Dice the second bunch of cilantro as well. Top the entire dish with the red onion and cilantro, do not mix it. The onion will caramelize and the cilantro will become crispy.

Throw it in the oven covered for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes uncover the chicken, crank the oven up to 450 degrees and let it sit inside for another 15-20 minutes until the chicken is crispy and golden brown on top. The sauce will have bubbled and become a thick paste. Serve each piece of chicken with a large spoon of the sauce. Each bite of my chicken has to be topped with the sauce it doesn’t work any other way! (Just kidding).

Serve the salsa as a side dish or buy a bag of mixed greens and lay the salsa over it.