weeknightdinner

How to make boring Rotisserie Chicken into a Delicious Coconut Curry

July 15, 2026 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Here’s how to make boring rotisserie chicken into a delicious Coconut Curry! Rotisserie Chicken = one of the EASIEST and TASTIEST weeknight dinners you’ll ever make! Good for singles, couples or family of four.

Scroll down for Reels at bottom!

About Rotisserie Chicken

Grab a $4.99 rotisserie chicken from wherever you shop at, mine is Costco. You can’t beat that price. Use whatever vegetables are hanging around your fridge, and dinner is ready in about 30 minutes.

About Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is one of my favorite pantry staples and instantly makes a dish tasty. It’s creamy, plant-based, packed with flavor, and instantly transports me back to Asia. I like Trader Joe’s brand cause it’s pure coconut milk not just “coconut flavored milk”! There’s coconut milk and coconut cream. I get both and sometimes mix.

Trader Joe’s Coconut Milk & Coconut Cream

Look at all the gunk in this coconut milk!

What is Rempah?

Rempah is a Malaysian word for aromatics and seasonings. Typically use shallots but yellow or red onions are good.

About Curry Powder

I mix my own spices that are most commonly found in curry powder: chili, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, anise, cardamom, ginger.

My favorite ready made curry powder is a Malaysian brand my mom used: Baba’s. Finally available on Amazon. Here’s my affiliate link.

You can also find many Curry Powder on Weee, not an affiliate yet.

Cook with what you have

The beauty of this dish? There are NO rules. Cook with what you have, the Wok Star Way! Whatever vegetables you have will work! OR add frozen peas near end of heating, this will add pop of color & get your vegetable fix!

All you really need:

🥥 1 can coconut milk

🍗 2 bowls chicken stock

🌿 2–3 tbsp good curry powder

🧂 Salt to taste

Optional if you like a bit of tang:

I added torn kaffir lime leaves and squeeze of lemon to taste for extra brightness.

Directions:

• Shred the chicken (freeze the carcass for bone broth!)

• Wok-fry your vegetables

• Fry the rempah (onion, ginger, turmeric & curry powder)

• Add the chicken

• Mix everything in the pot with coconut milk, stock & salt to taste

• Heat through and dinner is served!

• Garnish with Fried Shallots (also from TJ’s in the coconut milk section! See photo)

Why cook in a wok?

I love cooking vegetables in my lightweight cast iron wok. The wide opening gives me plenty of room to toss everything together without making a mess. More about this soon.

I’ve decided to make one coconut curry dish every week using different proteins and vegetables. Let’s see where this delicious challenge takes me!

🥥 Are you a coconut curry lover? What ingredients would you add?

PS I haven’t figured out how to remove caption from Instagram! But blog has a lot more helpful information!

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Nearly Homemade Duck Noodle Soup in under 30 minutes

February 4, 2020 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

While you were all watching Super Bowl, I made this delicious Nearly Homemade Duck Noodle Soup in under 30 minutes! The Yu Choy and mushrooms I got from that new Chinese market, IFresh in North Miami were so good. And roast duck from King Palace.

Quick and easy! Try it for weeknight especially when it’s a little chilly and breezy. Yes, Miami has had a little spell. I even have this through summer, in my house, we can have soup noodles ANY DAY.

I love the process of making it. It’s very soothing. Then seeing it come together with bright crunchy vegetables and squishy mushrooms.

Often, I’ll use different vegetables for variety on another night, see bottom photo.

I don’t even know why I eat this dish out since it’s so easy especially when you have access to a Chinese restaurant or market that prepares Roast Duck or meats.

Keep Rice Noodles in your pantry so you can whip this up in no time. Here’s how…

1. Start by cooking rice noodles: add boiling water to rice noodles in pot and just cover with lid without stove turned on. Yes, it doesn’t need heat, they “cook” really fast. Check it after only 5-7 minutes, do a taste test for doneness. Just put lid on if you want it softer.

I was in a hurry and overdid it by boiling, oops. Big mistake. They got quite starchy, so I rinsed in colander in cold water to stop from cooking and added few dashes of Sesame oil to prevent from sticking. This is how you treat noodles.

2. Whilst noodles are “cooking.” Chop scallions, cilantro and shred ginger.

3. Using same pot, make soup starting with Kirkland chicken stock, seasonings you already have in your KIT – San-J tamari, sherry, white pepper plus small dollop of Huy Fong chili garlic sauce and Red Boat Fish Sauce. Throw in ginger. Adjust savory, spiciness to your liking!

Seasonings from your KIT. Tamari, Sherry, Pepper. Add chili & fish sauce. — Seasonings from your KIT. San-J Tamari, Sherry, Pepper. Add Huy Fong chili sauce & fish sauce.

4. Add duck pieces to soup to give flavor and warm through. Set in bowl.

5. Blanche Yu Choy and mushrooms in soup.

6. Boil hot water and warm up rice noodles in colander and add to bowl.

7. Boil soup to rolling boil. Pour soup over everything and garnish with chopped scallions, cilantro. Boom, done!

ENJOY!

Use different vegetables like loofah melon — Use different vegetables like Loofah melon on another night.

Note: if you purchase from my Amazon affiliate links, I will earn a commission.

Wok Steamed Chicken & Mushrooms

January 6, 2017 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Wok Steamed Chicken and Mushrooms is a simple, healthy and tasty dish to start your New Year Resolution right and you will be rewarded with loads of compliments! There’s very little prep time and considering it’s only 2 main ingredients: organic chicken thighs and oyster mushrooms, it oozes with natural flavors.
It’s a very typical homestyle dish my mom used to make and instantly brings back vivid childhood memories when you take that first bite. I sent my sisters the photo collage and they all wanted it right away, it’s funny how food associations are so strong.

Benefits of Steaming…
Your wok really is versatile, it’s not just for an Asian stir fry. The shape, depth and wide opening makes it a perfect pan for steaming. Steaming is a really fast way of cooking fish and chicken while retaining its natural flavors.

IMPROVISE…
My approach to cooking for newbies is to improvise with what you have and make it the best tasting dish, if you don’t have mushrooms, it will still taste good! The dried oyster mushrooms are the ones that came in your Kit! As with any of my dishes, you can substitute with turkey, pork, beef, fish, tofu.
My personal preference is chicken thighs or drumsticks, they are more moist and tender compared to breast which can be dry and not as flavorful. I just reminded my sisters what they said to me when I was young and would ONLY eat breast, “let her enjoy cause she’ll realize dark meat that’s good when she gets older!” Ha, ha and here I am.
Feel free to blanche whatever vegetable you have, I had green beans. It’s also a fast way to cook up a batch of vegetables if you’re in a hurry, I show how to blanche veggies here.

Ingredients:
1 packet organic chicken thighs deboned and skinned (Costco)
Earthy Delight oyster mushrooms, or a mix of enoki, shitake, whatever you like
knob ginger
2 scallions
handful cilantro

3/4 lb. green beans blanched in wok with drop of grape seed oil and salt
curry quinoa
Seasonings:
TSPC: tamari, sherry, pepper (ground white), cornstarch
grape seed oil
salt
curry powder
Prep Instructions:
1. Cut chicken into 3-4 chunks and put into coup dish, marinade with TSPC.
2. Trim mushroom stems and save steeping juice and stems for making stock if using dried. Add mushrooms to chicken and mix in.
3. shred ginger, chop cilantro and shred scallions, save a few for garnish. Add to dish and mix in.
4. Boil water in your wok, place steamer rack or wood chopsticks across your wok as shown (don’t use disposable because they bend). If your lid has a gap between lid and wok, drape a kitchen towel to prevent steam escaping.
Cooking Process…
1. Make rice or quinoa first, takes about 20 mins. You can cheat with making curry quinoa by sprinkling curry powder, coconut oil and salt once quinoa is cooked and combine well. (I like to fry my quinoa in a little oil when it’s cooled off and sprinkle curry powder, the aroma is exquisite.)
2. Blanch green beans in boiling water in your wok and squeeze a few drops of grape seed oil and little salt and put lid on. Taste for doneness, I like mine crunchy, remember they continue cooking a little, drain and set aside.
3. Place your dish of chicken and mushrooms on top of chopsticks and put lid on. Test at about 8-10 mins by cutting into one of the chunks for doneness (i.e. any red), you don’t need to turn over. Don’t keep opening the lid while it’s cooking cause you’ll let all the steam out.
My Steamed Ground Turkey Meatloaf was pinned 106 times, woohoo. I also showed how to use your wok in 3 different ways in one dinner: steam, blanche and fry, so make use of that wok!