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.
Really great flavor! I added carrots and water chestnuts for more crunch.
Great recipe! Love all the flavors. We make this one a lot and never get tired of it. Love to have leftovers from it, but sometimes there’s not any left. It’s that good.
What would be a good vegetable to serve with this dish? Thanks!
I like the Crunchy Asian Salad with this dish. It provides a great texture and color contrast to the peanut sauce.
Tried this recipe tonight and my husband and I loved it! It is so flavorful! We didn’t use the hot sauce since I’m a wimp with spicy food, but it was still delicious!
Looks delicious. Do you think you could use another oil besides vegetable?
Yep, you can use coconut, canola, olive, or any light neutral oil.
We cooked this last night and really liked it. The peanut flavor was just right, not too light, but not overwhelming and the hint of Sriracha and lime was perfect! Definitely a keeper.
My husband and I have been on a budget byte recipe marathon as of late. After over a year of having a food budget that had exploded into something north of scary and feeling more unhealthy than ever, we decided we needed to cut back and eat a little better. We’ve been cooking through your arsenal of recipes, along with others from other food blogs, to see what we want to add to our permanent rotation.
Thanks for spending the time to do this, and coming up with recipes that taste twice as expensive as they really are.
I have never commented on recipes before but I had to… this was amazing! I used left over cooked chicken, added a sad looking red pepper I had forgotten in the bottom drawer and voila’ I had dinner on the table in 10 minutes. I also used whipping cream instead of coconut because I had none and it still turned out amazing! Thank you for sharing, definitely a keeper:)
I finally made this tonight – with tofu, broccoli, and red peppers. Beth – you rule. The coconut milk and peanut butter where perfectly balanced. So much Thai flavor my husband asked if there was fish sauce in it. Then I realized our meal was happy-accident vegan. (Love that!)
Do you think this would work with almond butter? I don’t have an allergy or anything, I’m just simply not a peanut butter fan and I’m curious if different nut butters would work as plausible substitutes.
I don’t see why it wouldn’t work the same, although I can’t speak for the flavor. Not sure how it would taste. :)
This has become my husband’s new favorite recipe, and it took a couple tweaks, but this recipe really soars! We doubled the spice, doubled the lime, and… We added about a tablespoon of fish sauce!! That did it. Those adjustments gave this recipe the depth we were looking for. Had a great base, just needed a little boost.
I’ve tried this recipe out several times and love it! I was thinking about adding some curry powder, and was wondering if you had any thoughts on how much to add.
Start with 1/2 Tbsp, and add more if it’s too light. I usually add a lot of curry powder to things (1-2 Tbsp), but it’s definitely going to depend on the brand. They’re all so different!
Great recipe! I did a couple of minor things differently. I increased the sriracha because I like the heat in contrast with the peanut butter. Second, I waited to add the ginger and garlic to the pan. Garlic gets bitter when it is overcooked (and gets brown), so I NEVER add it at the start of a recipe. I add it at the end of cooking, and sauté it long enough that it becomes fragrant.
Made this last night and the family loved it! I took some advice from other reviewers and cut the p-butter to 1/3 cup and increased the siracha a bit but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Yum! Thanks again – love your posts. :D
We’re a 2 person, 2 income family and we’re always looking for ways to cut costs so we can save more. This site is perfect for us!! My husband is a very picky eater, so I’m constantly looking for recipes that I can add to or remove things from and this is one that you can doctor until it’s just right for you. We both love this recipe (as well as many others on this site). I usually add stir fry veggies to spread the recipe out for lunches the next day. Also, we’re a Frank’s red hot house, but that works just as well as the sriracha. Please keep adding new recipes!!!
I’ve been looking for a peanut butter chicken/noodle recipe. I had a peanut sauce chicken dish at cheese cake factory that was noodles, chicken, veggies, crushed peanuts and it tasted like warm sweet peanut butter with a kick! They have discontinued that dish and it was my favorite thing to eat. I’ve been told to try Thai peanut sauces and Ive tried many many dishes and pre packaged sauces and a bunch of recipes and I CAN NOT GET CLOSE to the peanut buttery sweet taste that I want with a hint of spice. Is this sauce sweet and peanut buttery? If so please let me know
It’s not too sweet, although you could always add a little brown sugar or honey to make it sweet to your liking. But yes, it’s very peanut buttery :)