2013 is going to be GREAT, I can feel it!
This is the first recipe of the year and I already know that it’s going to go on next year’s “best of” list! It’s SO good and SO easy. Peanut and coconut combine to make an incredibly luxurious and creamy sauce for the chicken, which is then sassed up with just a little soy sauce, brown sugar, lime, and sriracha! If you don’t have sriracha, you can just add a pinch of red pepper flakes… or just leave it out for a mild version.
Of course this “luxurious” sauce is a little high on the fat content, so make sure to serve this up with a side of some yummy vegetables, like this Crunchy Asian Salad. And, if you can find it, serve it over brown jasmine rice for some added fiber.
Enjoy and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Chicken in Peanut Sauce
Chicken in Peanut Sauce
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 inches fresh ginger ($0.14)
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil ($0.08)
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast* ($1.99)
- 1 14oz. can coconut milk ($2.14)
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter ($0.66)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.10)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp sriracha hot sauce, optional ($0.02)
- 1 lime ($0.50)
- 1/4 bunch cilantro, optional ($0.20)
- 4 cups cooked jasmine rice ($0.69)
Instructions
- If you don’t have cooked jasmine rice on hand, begin cooking your rice first so it will be ready by the time the chicken and sauce are complete. To begin the sauce, mince the garlic and then peel and grate the ginger into a large skillet or pot. Saute both in the vegetable oil over medium heat for about 2 minutes or until they are soft and fragrant.
- Cut the chicken into small pieces (about one inch across). Add them to your skillet or pot. Saute until lightly browned and cooked through (about 10 minutes).
- Turn the heat down to low and add the coconut milk and peanut butter. Stir gently to combine the two and dissolve any browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. Once the sauce is relatively smooth, add the soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, and juice from half of the lime. Stir to combine and heat through (about ten minutes).
- Pull the cilantro leaves from their stems and roughly chop. Scoop about one cup of jasmine rice into the bottom of each bowl and then top with the chicken and sauce (about 3/4 cup). Sprinkle the fresh cilantro over top and enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
Start by mincing the garlic and grating the ginger (peel the ginger with a vegetable peeler or scrape the skin off with the side of a spoon). Saute both in vegetable oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until soft and fragrant.
Cut the chicken into small pieces, about one inch across each.
Add the chicken to the pot/skillet and saute until cooked through (about 10 minutes). It’s okay if stuff sticks to the bottom of the pan because it will dissolve off into the sauce, just don’t let it go past “brown” to “burned.”
Next, add the coconut milk and peanut butter.
Turn the heat down to low. Gently stir (to minimize splashing) the two together until they are smooth and all of the browned bits on the bottom of the pan have also dissolved in.
Now it’s time to add a little pizazz! We’re touching all of the flavor bases here with the soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, and lime juice. You can start with juice from half of the lime and add more if you’d like. If you don’t have sriracha, add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a little heat.
Stir all of those flavor ingredients in and your sauce is finished! Allow the sauce to heat through and then serve. Just make sure to have the heat low enough so that the pot does NOT boil. If it reaches a boil, the coconut milk will separate.
Serve with cooked jasmine rice and a sprinkle of fresh, chopped cilantro. INCREDIBLE.
Easy and delicious. I used my own homemade seitan in place of the chicken and yours looked nice and saucy so I tossed in steamed broccoli and red bell pepper, too (and used light coconut milk). Fast. Tasty. Thanks, Beth!
Anonymous- I take that back… I just grated some ginger while making another recipe and one inch is definitely more along the lines of one *teaspoon*. It’s hard to estimate :)
Anonymous – I think two inches would be about two tablespoons, but it’s okay if you have a little more or a little less because of the girth of your ginger. It’s a very forgiving ingredient :)
Teresa – Because powdered ginger is a little more concentrated, I’d start with a teaspoon and adjust according to your tastes from there.
Do you know how much powdered ginger I would use for this recipe if I do not have fresh ginger? Thanks!
Tanks for the great dish! One question, though. Do you have a rough idea how much ginger your two inches yields? My yield is all over the place depending how big the ginger my store has. It would be helpful to know roughly how much I should have. Thanks!
Recently found your blog and am loving it! This dish was also excellent. With the leftovers, I threw in some fresh spinach I had lying around and it softened in the warm peanut deliciousness, adding a little green.
I’m so excited to try this out – I’ve been using store-bought Thai peanut sauce to cook my chicken in, and now I can make my own! I usually sautee some green beans in there as well for my veggie fix.
Ok, I just made this for dinner for me & my husband and we’re scraping the bottom of the pan! Thanks for the recipe!
Anonymous – Unfortunately the coconut milk is the main ingredient in the sauce and there’s just nothing suitable to replace it with. Even though it’s called “peanut sauce” the coconut is every bit as important to the texture and flavor.
Is there anything to substitute the coconut milk with?
Also Beth, you should definitely try this peanut sauce recipe – it’s from a local restaurant here in Victoria, B.C. where I live and it is honestly the best peanut sauce I’ve ever had. :)
http://gourmeh.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/peanut-sauce-with-ginger-lime-and-cilantro/
I have to agree with Nick about the peanut butter being overpowering. Also, the oil separated while everything was simmering together which looked very unappetizing. This is the first time I’ve had anything but a rave review for one of your recipes though! :)
This sounds amazing and right up my alley with tastes I love! I plan to try this very soon and add bellpepper, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes. I also plan to use tofu instead of chicken. We’re a big fan of curry like dishes in my household and love them veggie heavy.
I did learn something with the whole natural peanut butter discussion everyone has going on here. I didn’t know!
Although I buy my almond butter at Winco here where I live and they have a machine where you just grind it yourself and purchase by the ounce. It’s amazing :) I’ll certainly have to give my dishes a try with natural peanut butter from now on.
2 inches of ginger was a buck! Other than that the prices were right on! I did just look at my PB jar and see they have added sugar, so not one hundred percent right, but overall it was a good, tasty dish! We also used a lot more sriracha because it’s delicious!
Made this tonight. Wonderful! Used light coconut milk and added carrot in match-stick pieces. A definite winner. Will make again and again. Love your blog and recipes.