Chicken Satay

I decided to look for an easy chicken satay recipe because Charlie has really liked it whenever we have gotten thai food (as long it is not a spicy satay sauce).  Well, this recipe was so easy and we all loved it!  Charlie ate more chicken during this dinner than I have ever seen him eat in one sitting before, so this is definitely a keeper! 

I cooked the rice, sliced the chicken and made the marinade in the morning. I marinated the chicken for the rest of the day until it was time to cook dinner.  I also picked up some organic carrots at our local farmers' market this morning and roasted those (and they were very good with the chicken). When it came to dinner time, all I had to do was grill the chicken, toss the sauce ingredients in a pan to simmer, and heat up the rice - all taking only about 20 minutes. You could also prep the chicken, marinade and rice the night before if you won't have time the day of. The chicken was really tender and flavorful and the sauce could not have been any better (or any easier to make!). 

Typically the chicken for this type of recipe would be cooked on skewers, but since I was cooking the chicken on a grill pan instead of the outdoor grill, I decided not to use the skewers.

Chicken Satay

Ingredients

Marinade:

1/2 cup organic coconut milk

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp curry powder

1 1/2 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 pound organic free range chicken breasts, cut unto 1-inch strips

Sauce:

1 cup organic coconut milk

1 Tbsp curry powder

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup organic chicken stock

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp lime juice

1 tsp organic tamari

Salt to taste

Directions

1. Stir together marinade ingredients in medium bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add chicken and toss until uniformly covered in marinade. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

2. To begin sauce, combine coconut milk, curry powder, peanut butter, chicken stock and brown sugar in saucepan and and simmer over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and tamari; season with salt to taste.

3. Heat grill pan over medium-high heat; grill marinated chicken strips for 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked through.

4. Serve with warm peanut sauce and organic brown rice

(Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com)

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Chicken is an excellent source of protein and is rich in B vitamins. Coconut milk is abundant in vitamin C and E, as well as several B vitamins. Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein and potassium. Brown rice is unrefined, so contains it's original abundance of iron, zinc, manganese, selenium, antioxidants and fiber.