I am a newlywed on a budget, just trying to make healthy and inexpensive meals for my husband and I to enjoy. He eats a lot, so cost is a big factor. Though I work 3 jobs, I manage to find time 6 nights a week to cook a full dinner for us both. I am constantly looking for new recipes that are moderately healthy, taste great, and won't break the bank.

On the side, I also own a brownie business called Gersheybars. My passion and love for cooking started when I was just a small child, baking with my mom and grandmother. The brownie recipe has been passed down through 5 generations and I am thrilled to finally have an outlet to share them with everybody else. Friends and family have helped spread the word and made my business as successful as it is today.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Thai Coconut Chicken

Love, love, love coconut chicken. Especially Justin. Every time we go to the local Thai place, he swears he'll get something different. And in the end, it's always coconut chicken for him. So I decided to give this recipe a shot to see how it compared to the real deal. It's sweet and spicy, and surprisingly rich for a Weight Watcher's recipe (from WW Simply Delicious). The mixture of cumin, red curry paste and basil makes for a really earthy, spicy flavor that's incredible. We kept saying, "Wow, this dish is awesome!"

Ingredients
  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
  • 1 Tablespoon packed light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 pound asparagus, cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces (I omitted this because I forgot to buy them at the store! So I substituted red pepper.)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice
Directions

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet, then add the chicken and sprinkle with the salt. Saute until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

2. Heat the remaining oil in the same skillet over low heat, then add onion, garlic and ginger. Saute until fragrant and the onions are softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the sugar, curry paste, and cumin; cook 1 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the asparagus, coconut milk and fish sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the chicken and basil; heat through. Serve over rice.

2 comments:

Heather said...

Thanks for the recipe... we are trying this one tonight. I just got back from the store, buying all the ingredients. I sure hope we like this--jeez, the spices and sauces alone (since we didn't have any on hand) were like $20! Not bad if we can utilize them in the future, though.

The only coconut milk I could find is in a can... how do you preserve the remaining milk to make sure it stays fresh until the next time you make the recipe?

Jamie said...

I always buy my spices from a local store that offers them in bulk. It's much more cost effective than buying the full jars at your grocery store. But I use them all the time in my cooking, so check out the rest of the blog for more ideas on how to utilize the spices you just bought!

I store the remaining coconut milk in a tupperware container in the fridge. I usually try to use it with a week or so. And canned coconut milk is fine, that's all I've ever used.