02.03.12_Thai Quinoa Chili

Ever since Phillip and I made the Butternut Coconut Stew, I have been on the look out for another recipe that we could use quinoa in since we barely used half the bag last time. I came across a similar dish, Thai Quinoa Chili and thought it would be another easy, tasty dish that would be good for the winter months. The recipe called for:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 4 cups vegetable broth, divided
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• 1-28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Sliced green onions, for serving (I omitted these for Phillip)
• Plain Greek yogurt, for serving (omit to make the dish vegan)

After reading through the list I thought 3 cans of beans was a lot, as was a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, but we rationalized that all the beans would take the place of the meat that was typically in chili.

As always, this recipe could not have been easier. I whisked together the chili powder, curry paste, cumin and a few tablespoons of stock in my largest soup pot. I then added a little olive oil before dropping in the sweet potato, onion, green pepper and garlic. I also added one Thai chili to give a little kick. Make sure you wash your hands good and several times after using these bad boys. They are hot! After sauteing for a few minutes, I dumped in the drained kidney beans, the quinoa, and the can of tomatoes. Finally, I added the coconut milk and remainder of the veggie stock, praying it would all fit. It was literally filled to the brim. Needless to say this recipe made an ABSURD amount of chili. We ended up freezing half of it and the other half was more than enough for both of our dinners and lunches for another day so I'd definitely recommend halving this recipe if its just for two people.

The chili was delicious but I was a little disappointed that I couldn't taste the coconut milk. It was very subtle, maybe because it called for light? I definitely was hoping for more of a Thai flavor. I topped my bowl with a dollop of Greek yogurt which added a nice tang to the chili that I really liked. Obviously you can omit this and the dish would be vegan.

On the side we decided we would make cornbread, but I wanted to change it up a bit to go with the Thai flavors I was expecting with the chili. I used the box mix, but added 1/4cup of frozen corn kernels, a Thai chili, and instead of 1/4cup of milk, I did half milk half coconut milk. Again, I didn't get as much coconut as I wanted so if I were to make these again I would use all coconut milk to get more of the flavor. The Thai chili gave a nice kick though and the corn added texture to the muffins. Cornbread mixes are not vegan, FYI, so if you did want to make this a vegan meal you would have to make these without the box.