Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Chicken it is!

I've decided to do a chicken dish today, because of a phone call I received from the school nurse today. It went a little something like this..."This is Michelle, the school nurse at Maplewood. Carly has some suspicious red bumps on her arms, back, and chest. We think it might be the chicken pox."

My first thought was, woo hoo! I get to go home from work early today!! And then I thought, wait, Carly had the chicken pox vaccine...back in 1998. Doh! Needless to say, we're headed to the doctor this evening, after all of the non-sick patients have left for the day. Then we'll see if I can continue to celebrate. Love you Carly!

Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
Yield: 4 servings

1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 shallot, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce (or 2 additional teaspoons soy sauce)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast pounded slightly and cut into 1-inch strips
8 (8-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked for 20 minutes
3/4 cup Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce, recipe below
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil or cilantro leaves
1/4 cup chopped toasted peanuts

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the chicken stock, coconut milk, soy sauce, shallot, garlic, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime zest, and ginger. Add the chicken strips and marinate for 1 hour. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade.

Spray a nonstick grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over a medium-high flame. While pan is heating, thread chicken onto skewers. Grill 2 to 3 minutes per side, until meat is cooked through and has light grill marks.

Serve chicken skewers with Peanut Dipping Sauce, and garnish with basil or cilantro and chopped peanuts.

Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
Sauce can be made 1 day ahead of time, and will keep 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Yield: about 1 1/4 cups

1 comment:

Ruth Sagers said...

So did Carly have chicken pox? Come on, Berta, don't leave me in suspense!