Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Two Chicken and Peanut Butter Recipes!!

Here are two of my favourite Thai and Indonesian inspired chicken and peanut butter recipes:

Chicken In Peanut Sauce

3/4 pound (380g) boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups thinly sliced carrots
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced (I use the bottled type found in produce section. It is either packed in water or olive oil)
1 cup water
2/3 cup peanut butter
3 Tablespoons light soya sauce
1/4 rounded teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2/3 cup frozen peas, thawed (don't use canned)
3/4 teaspoon white wine vinegar
chopped green onion for garnish
blanched, salted peanuts for garnish

In the bottom of a dutch oven, evenly layer the chicken, carrots and onion. Sprinkle the garlic over top. In a separate bowl, whisk together the water, peanut butter, soya sauce and pepper flakes. Pour evenly over the chicken and vegetables. Cover and bake in 350F oven for about 35-40 minutes or till vegies are tender and chicken is cooked. Stir in thawed peas and white wine vinegar. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve over brown rice and garnish with green onion and peanuts. Serves 4. This isn't technically a stew, but it is thick, flavourful and loaded with protein. Delicious!!

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Baked Thai Chicken

Okay I know this sounds like a gross combination, but please trust me! I SWEAR IT IS FANTASTIC!!

Combine;
1 cup light Catalina Dressing
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 Tablespoon light soya sauce.

Pour half the sauce into a 9X9 baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam. Cut 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 pound/454g) into cubes or strips. Place chicken in single layer over sauce and cover with remaining sauce. Marinate, covered in fridge for 30-60 minutes, then bake in a 375F oven for 30-35 minutes. Serve over brown rice with steamed vegetables or a tossed salad. Serves 4. Yummy!!

Note: I start baking a dish of brown rice while the chicken is marinating. In a 2 quart/litre greased casserole dish combine: 1 1/2cups Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Brown Rice, 3 cups water, 1Tablespoon oil or margarine and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and bake at 375F for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

dn

2 comments:

leelu said...

Help needed! What is Catalina dressing?

dnsyl57 said...

Catalina Dressing is a spicier variation of French Dressing. I would NOT recomend substituting French for Catalina in this recipe as it won't taste nearly as good.

There are several recipes on line but I have not tried making any, so can not say how close to the real thing they are.

I highly recomend finding the Kraft (or other commercial brand) version. They do regular, fat free and light versions. I found a bit of product info at;
http://www.kraftfoodservice.com/productsandbrands/ProductSpecific.htm?option=product&id=878

and I also found a couple of visual images of the bottle at;
http://products.peapod.com/79960.html (1st and 6th items)

Catalina is a readily available type of dressing here in Canada and I know that Kraft US also makes it, so I hope you can hold off trying the recipe until you find the real thing. It is worth the wait!

Good luck, my friend!