Last night, I made an exotic-sounding recipe that I found in an unlikely source. As Charles said to me last night, "Betty Crocker has come a long way since Chicken a la King!" Fair warning: if you have anyone in your family with a peanut allergy, you might just want to surf on over to whatever other blogs you read, and check back in with me in the next couple of days for a different recipe.
A few years ago, I made Indonesian Peanut Chicken exactly as directed by the book (Betty Crocker's Cookbook, Bride's Edition - which, oddly, I bought just before I started dating my husband.) It calls for a 3- to 3 1/2-pound cut-up broiler-fryer.
Last night I simplified by using a couple of pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. They had a nice flavor to them, but were typically fatty and a bit sinewy. I'm sure boneless, skinless breasts would work well, and I'm thinking of going that route next time. I also removed the 3/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper the recipe calls for, and cooked the chicken in Pam instead of 2 tablespoons of oil.
If someone in your life is vegetarian or vegan, omit the chicken and substitute in your favorite vegetables. Sautee veggies until crisp-tender, and proceed with making the sauce as written.
Serve either version over rice or rice noodles.
Indonesian Peanut Chicken
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
Vegetable oil spray (or 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil)
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup chili sauce (I used sweet Thai chili sauce)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup water
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper (or more - I just chopped up a whole pepper)
Heat 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Spray with vegetable oil spray and cook chicken about 15 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned on both sides. Cover and cook over low heat about 15-20 minutes, or until juice is no longer pink when center of thickest piece is cut. Remove chicken from skillet.
Drain all but 1 tablespoon of drippings from skillet. Cook onion in drippings over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender; reduce heat. Add peanut butter, chili sauce, and cayenne. Gradually stir in water, stirring constantly, until peanut butter is melted.
Add chicken. Spoon sauce over chicken. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about five minutes, spooning sauce frequently over chicken, until sauce is slightly thickened. Serve sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and red bell pepper.
3 spoons thrown:
I will be making this one. By the way, to expand the possibilites, I think the sauce would be good for dressing noodles and maybe tossing them with raw veges (carrots, cucumbers, peppers) all cut in match sticks.
this sounds great! may have to try it this weekend
Nathalie Dupree has a peanut-stuffed chicken in her 'New Southern Cooking' book
-another Muppet-loving Martha
me want update
an-i-mal
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