Greetings and Salutations, blog readers! 

Today, we are continuing with my recipe series from recipes I served at Lenyn’s birthday soiree! 

Like the others, I will be keeping this short and sweet, in an effort to not be like other annoying blogs that take twenty years to get to the damn recipe. 

Just know, this was a recipe I modified from one of my favorite Houston restaurants, The Hobbit Cafe, and everyone, even people who don’t like curry, like the birthday boy himself, LOVED this recipe.

So, this is a Curry Chicken salad, and you can make it with canned chicken, but, c’mon, obviously cooking it with real chicken is better. For this birthday batch I used about four or five chicken breasts, but it was for chicken salad for two days, including a stoner tea party which would yield massive munchies. 

First, I took the chicken and covered it, front and back in a mix (to season, use your judgment, I used a fuck ton because I hate bland food) of onion powder, garlic powder, curry powder, parsley, salt and pepper. I tossed this heavily seasoned chicken in a glass baking dish I lined with parchment paper to make clean up easier, with some butter (margarine works fine, I am sure oil would too, and yeah, you could infuse any of those if you wanted to) and then put it in the oven for a heat banishment of 350 degrees. 

The chicken cooked for about thirty minutes or so, I just checked it until it was cooked, your cooking time will depend on your chicken, oven, and altitude. 

Once the chicken was cooked, I let it fully cool and then put it in a very large mixing bowl.

I used a hack I got from someone or somewhere online, to use my hand mixer to shred the chicken, and after getting it started with the forking method, used the mixer to get these beautiful strands and chunks of chicken, which are perfect for chicken salad as the strands absorb more flavor, and also provide more structure for the sandwich, which is well needed, as we will be cutting them into fourths for tea party sized nibbles. 

So, once the chicken is good and shredded, or when it is close, you can toss in some mayo and curry powder (yes, more) and mix some more, to help finish it off. I did this because I felt the mayo would spread better if I did it while I was finishing the shredding with the mixer, and that is exactly what it did, so I am a big convert to this shredding method if you are making any sort of chicken salad, because it really allowed me to mix the chicken in a nice way, spreading those flavors, and the mix was ready to receive the rest of the delicious salad mix. 

I added a ton of mayo, and actually ran out and had to add some sour cream, which worked out well, but you don’t need to feel obligated to buy both, simply know that with most chicken salads you use some sort of structure glue, like mayo or sour cream or both, and with the curry chicken salad both work. I am sure something like Greek yogurt would be wonderful, but I don’t keep that on hand. If you do, go nuts. 

I sliced up some purple grapes, like a ton, since it was a large batch. You will want to use a proportional amount to the chicken you used, so since I used four chicken breasts and love grapes in my curry chicken salad, I went through nearly a pound of grapes, slicing them up and tossing them into the salad, while it was still on the dryer side of finished, so I don’t put too much mayo in it. Remember, grapes give you lots of moisture, and soggy salad is nasty. This is why I am writing this all out, and making the recipe so specific- I hate a nasty chicken salad and i don’t want y’all ruining one of my favorite types because I didn’t give close instructions. 

Anyways, I added the grapes, mixing as I went, and then, when I was satisfied with the amount of grapes, added what was left of the mayo and some sour cream (like I said, I was out of mayo at that point) along with more seasonings, curry, onion, garlic powder, some pepper and light salt. I also recommend adding some red onion and or chives to this mix, if you like onions. 

Once the mixture is mixed, and is the texture and consistency you want, cover it with some sort of wrap or top, plastic wrap is fine, Tupperware is also fine, and store in the fridge. 

When you are ready to eat, or when you are a few hours out, go ahead and toss the mixture onto the sandwich, and then cut into fourths, thanking yourself for shredding the chicken with the mixer and therefore giving you longer ribbons which provide the sandwich structure when being cut. 

These sandwiches taste pretty good is left covered, allowing the seasoning to sink into the bread, and if you don’t make it too wet, they won’t get soggy for a while, making them great for a stoner tea party, or any casual get together where prepping food ahead of time makes it easier to host. These are also nicely displayed on cute dishware, so don’t be afraid to dress them up an serve them for “fancier” occasions, or just make it up when you have a hankering for a delicious treat. 

I hope you try the Curry Chicken Sandwiches, they are a favorite of mine and always a large hit with my friends. 

Thanks for reading!

❤

Abbi