Monday, January 30, 2012

Thai Peanut Sauce Stir-Fry and Chicken Skewers





I have this insatiable craving for peanut butter, at all times of the day. Does anyone else have this problem? Last year I made this peanut sauce with noodles and chicken, but I wanted to try something new when Nick told me he had invited his mother over for dinner. I had my eye on a couple recipes, but ended up with the following recipe that was a huge success (although, I'll warn you, it was messy!).


Thai Peanut Sauce Stir-Fry and Chicken Skewers(Adapted from EatRight.org and a recipe from About.com)

Ingredients
(Serves 6)


Peanut Sauce

  • 2/3 cup peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced (I omitted the garlic, but wanted to include this in case you don't want to omit it!)
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • juice from 2 limes
  • 1-1.25 cups water (depending on how thick you want your sauce!)
Stir-fry and Skewers

  • 4 cups broccoli, chopped
  • 2 cups sliced yellow pepper
  • 2 cups sliced carrots
  • 3 cup cooked brown basmati rice (or any type of brown rice or quinoa)
  • 2 pounds chicken breast
  • 12 wooden skewers (soaked)
  • 2 green onions, chopped (I omitted this, because of FODMAPs)

Preparation

1. Sauce: In a small saucepan over very low heat, whisk together all ingredients until well combined (add more or less water, depending on how thick you want your sauce). Keep warm.

2. Bake the chicken at 350 degrees (I sprayed mine with some garlic olive oil and added some fresh ground pepper before baking). Bake for about 25 minutes, or until cooked all the way through. Let it cool for about 15 minutes (while preparing the vegetables, below).

3. Add the vegetables to a large saute pan, and coat with about three-fourths of the peanut sauce (the remaining sauce is for the chicken). Saute the veggies for about 15-20 minutes, or until vegetables are crisp-tender (stir on occasion).

4. Cut the cooled chicken into 1-inch cubes. Put the chicken on 12 soaked skewers (each person gets 2 skewers).

5. Add the chicken to a grill pan, brush with remaining peanut sauce and heat on medium (you may end up with leftover peanut sauce, but the leftovers can be used for tomorrow's dinner!). Heat until he chicken is hot and ready to be enjoyed.

6. Grab a plate and add your rice (or other starch), the vegetables, and two skewers on each plate.







Nutrition Facts
(1/6 of meal)

** I forgot to use low sodium soy sauce in this evaluation, so the true sodium content should be lower than this! **

I kid you not, this meal was amazing! Nick gave it a 9.5 out of 10. I will definitely be making this again. The sauce was super easy to make and I used it on pasta with chicken the next night. If you want to decrease the calories in this meal you could skip the second skewer, or stick to only 1/4 cup brown rice, instead of 1/2 cup.


QUESTION: Do you crave peanut butter like I do? What's your favorite way to use peanut sauce? Do you have another favorite sauce that you use for multiple types of meals?

13 comments :

  1. I recently posted about the first peanut sauce I ever made- I really liked it!

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  2. I like peanut butter but my gallstones not so much, so I don't eat it a lot. And I have to be very careful with peanut sauce as I LOVE it, so I usually don't even taste it as I can't stop myself... ;) Your dish sounds wonderful, and I'm glad you enjoyed it so much.

    Happy Birthday!!! Have a wonderful day!

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  3. This looks like a perfect peanut sauce...I could seriously put peanut sauce on a pile of woodchips and eat them, I think. :-)

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  4. Yum- I am pinning this recipe as I am obsessed with peanut sauce and it looks like something even I could handle :)

    Hope you are having a great birthday!

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  5. Insatiable craving for peanut butter?? *raises hand* yes me too! I tend to have peanut butter every day and it's just not the same without it :) I love how you can use it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. I've made a similar version and one with curry seasoning. We also have this fantastic apple balsamic vinegar and french walnut oil that is delicious on many things.

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  6. I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER!!!! I crave it too! And peanut sauce??? YUM!!! I have a pretty good recipe for peanut butter chicken, it has a nice spicy flavor to it. I remember you eating string cheese and peanut butter together :) I tried it too...not too shabby! It really goes with everything, doesn't it??

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  7. This looks delicious Gina! I love peanut sauce and so does my husband, but my kids haven't warmed up to it. They love Chicken Sate, but without the sauce. I have a recipe for chicken salad with peanut sauce over lettuce greens that is quite yummy. Will definitely have to try your version out!

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  8. So nice to read your blog! Love the recipes!

    My son who already has a dairy allergy, was just diagnosed with fructose malabsorption, and I'm gluten intolerant, so it's nice to see recipes that take a lot of that into account. Thank you thank you!

    I'll be following!

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  9. actually I haven't had pb for a long time, maybe because I stopped having sweet oatmeal for breakfast. but I do like pb in savory dishes like this one, I just got a bottle of pb sauce, will definitely create something with it! :)

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  10. I think pesto for me is PB for you. I like PB but more in desserty applications. This sounds great love anything thai-esque. Funny, I have 1 child who likes PB but not peanut sauce (weirdo).

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  11. I've tried this recipe for my kids breakfast and they really liked it. They ate a lot and they're requesting now to cook again this recipe.

    Stir Fry Recipe Sauce

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