Papillon/Tropical Mango Coconut Chicken

This movie/dinner combo was spawned by a few things: Eric (who read the book Papillon years ago and loved it--and who I get to go visit in Oklahoma tomorrow!), tropical food (I'm off to Costa Rica in a week and can't stop thinking about it), and an overall desire--or should I say demand--for spring to take hold here in Philadelphia. That 70+ degree day a week and a half ago was such a tease! I can only hope that when I return in a week and a half that Philly will be warmer.

Papillon (1973) is a gritty prison film starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Parts of the movie reminded us of Life is Beautiful and there was a cameo by Matthew Cuthbert from Anne of Green Gables (Richard Farnsworth)!

Movie rating: 3.75

I searched for mango + coconut dishes and came up with our version after reading comments from others who had made the recipe. This was a really tasty meal and would be good with shrimp, fish, or chicken. It got even better as leftovers the next day!

Dinner rating: 4

Mango Coconut Chicken

adapted from this recipe

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

1 TB canola oil

2 TB curry powder

1/2 c thinly sliced onion

1 1/2 lb chicken, cubed

1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips

1 mango, peeled and cut into thin strips

1 cup light coconut milk

2 TB fish sauce

1/2 tsp sriracha

1 tsp sugar

1/3 c chopped fresh basil

Sprinkle potato pieces with 1 TB water; microwave, covered, until fork-tender. (In my tiny microwave, this took 5 minutes.) Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Push onion to sides of skillet. Add chicken; cook until done, about 8 minutes. Stir in potatoes and bell pepper, cook until peper softens, 1 to 2 minutes. Add mango, coconut milk, fish sauce, sriracha and sugar. Simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve atop cooked basmati rice. Top with a generous sprinkling of basil.