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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

This week, go ethnic

chicken

When the average freshman arrives in Bloomington, they are usually introduced to the miracle of Fourth Street. The boulevard of ethnic food is one of the most celebrated areas close to campus, and this week I’m using it as inspiration.

As much as I love eating on Fourth Street, my wallet usually prefers that I choose somewhere cheaper. So when I get a hankering for something different, I try to recreate the dishes that I’ve had there.

One of the best things I’ve discovered in my short cooking career is how easy it is to make curry. All you need is a good recipe, the right spices and a willingness to fail. I’ve made some curry dishes that made me swear off ethnic food forever and some that I could have eaten forever.

To make ethnic cooking even easier, many stores offer ready-made spice mixes that take care of the work for you. You can buy dry curry powder nearly anywhere or my favorite, a Thai red curry paste.

One of my goals with this column is to make cooking easy and accessible to everyone, especially those people who might not be as willing to experiment. The first curry recipe I ever saw was on The Pioneer Woman’s website, and it was so easy to follow that I made it successfully the first time around. If you find a good recipe and follow the directions, you usually can’t go wrong.

Ethnic food might look difficult to make because of its inherent unfamiliarity, but if you learn how, making international cuisine can become as second nature as heading down to Fourth Street.

If you really want to experiment, go to Sahara Mart. Their international section is brimming with food that can spice up any meal. Even your local Kroger or Marsh carries enough Indian and Thai ingredients to get you started.

This week’s recipe is so easy to prepare that it may become a staple in your diet as one of those meals you make when you don’t feel like cooking, but still want to eat something delicious.

So go ahead, imagine your favorite meal from Fourth Street, go to a grocery store and make your own
creation.

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