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.
I recently made this recipe. It was delicious! I loved the sauce. I could just drink it Ha! I added veggies to mine, red pepper, onion and green beans. I also used brown rice although I have to admit I prefer the white Jasmine. But with a little one I try to be as “healthy” as possible :)
This was so yummy! I think next time I make it I’ll try it with less peanut butter and maybe some panang curry paste. I always have to tweak things the second time I make them.
Very good! It made me 4 work lunches :) It made so much sauce, though, that in the future I would plan ahead to add maybe a bell pepper and some broccoli. I also had to add some salt – I know that “season to taste” goes without saying for real cooks…but I often forget and wonder why my food is bland!
You know what might be great with this? Some chopped kale in the sauce… especially if you decide to use brown rice. Yum.
Tyler – That’s one cup of cooked rice per person, not uncooked :) I think 1/3 cup uncooked would be roughly one cup once cooked. I don’t think I’d pair this with the yellow rice because it would be too many flavors competing. I liked the subtlety of the plain jasmine rice against the peanut sauce, but who knows, you might like it!
This looks awesome! But one cup of rice per person is an enormous amount. From my understanding, 1/3 cup of uncooked is a serving.
How woul this be with your yellow rice? Weird combo of flavors?
Anon – Honestly it’s hard for me to imagine if lemon would be good or bad in this. The lime has a very distinct flavor that goes well with the coconut, so I’m not sure how lemon would change the flavor. If you decide to try it out, please let us know how it is!
I don’t have lime, but i do have lemons. Would this be an okay substitute?
Just made this for dinner and this recipe ROCKS! Keep inspiring and proving that you can even eat like a king on a dime :)
Another yummy looking recipe. Pinned this one too. Thanks!
This Recipe Rocks, thanks for sharing.
It made a ton of extra sauce so I put the extra in tiny plastic cups and then in the freezer. I’ll just cook some chicken and add the sauce.
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I was wondering about what 2 inches would amount to because I use store bought pureed ginger in your teriyaki meatballs and use 2 tbsp for 2 inches and it tastes perfect. I tried it with this but because the PB is so overpowering I think I need to add more next time.
This was really good. My 3 year old devoured it, my 14 year olds opinion I will not repeat. lol I threw in brocolli and I think because there is so much sauce, next time I will add other veggies as well.
I made this with almond butter, as I had it leftover from something else, and it was amazing. I was licking my spoon after storing the leftovers.
loved it, beth! so very good!