Thai Peanut Chicken Rice Bowl

This dish is like if butter chicken and chicken satay had a baby. It is DELICIOUS. The sweet potatoes are the perfect accompaniment for the spicy and savory sauce.

Quantity: this should be enough for FOUR small meals or TWO large meals.

what you need:

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 2 chicken breasts
• Olive Oil spray
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• **ALL OF THE SPICES CAN BE SUBSTITUTED FOR 2 TEASPOONS OF THAI SPICE SEASONING, if you can find it! (I could not)**
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• Brown rice, for serving (I purchased the pre-made rice in the individual cups to help with portion control)
• Unsalted peanuts, crushed, for topping

what you need to do:

Steam the sweet potatoes in a steamer basket over boiling water until soft, set aside.

Place a piece of plastic wrap over the chicken breasts and beat them with a tenderizer (or a bottle of wine!) until they are even in thickness. This will help them cook evenly and more quickly, you want to pound out that large chunky end to be as flat as the rest of the chicken! Season breasts with a pinch of salt and set aside.

In a large nonstick pan, spray some of the oil to coat the pan. I like to use the spray when cooking light meals so that I can control the amount of oil in the food. Heat the pan on medium heat and then add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic. Cook about 2 – 3 minutes until softened. Add all of the seasoning and stir well to combine. Cook another 2 – 3 minutes, until the veggies have softened a bit and are super fragrant. Adjust heat to low, move the veggies to the side of the pan, and add both chicken breasts. Cook about 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through or 160 degrees internally. When chicken is cooked through, remove from pan and place on a large cutting board to rest.

In a small bowl, mix together water, peanut butter, and coconut milk. The peanut butter won’t mix well but do the best you can, it will come together once its added to the pan.

Pour the peanut butter mixture into the pan with the veggies and mix well with a whisk, breaking up the peanut butter. Mix until smooth. Let simmer. If your sauce is a bit too thick, add in a few splashes of coconut milk until it reaches the desired consistency.

Chop up the chicken into desired size pieces (I just chopped mine up into bite size to make it easier to eat! You can totally leave them whole and serve that way, with the sauce poured over) and then add to the pan. Stir well to combine, making sure to coat all of the chicken in the sauce.

To serve: add your heated rice to the bottom of a bowl, then spoon over the chicken and sauce, and add a scoop of sweet potato and sprinkle on some crushed peanuts!

Recipe adapted from F45 Challenge Meals.