No-Picture Thai Chicken Stir-Fry with Coconut Rice

That's right.... I committed the cardinal sin of blogging. I have no picture of this.  However, it was delicious so I should share it with you.  I'll have to update this post in the future when I make this again. For some reason I procrastinated on making this dish.  The ingredients sat in my fridge for over a week.  They were just about to start getting bad when I finally realized I was stalling because I didn't want to eat stuffed cabbage rolls.  Stir Fry! Problem Solved. 

Thai Chicken Stir-Fry with Coconut Rice
Inspired by: Thai Chicken in Cabbage Leaves
(pg. 276) 2009 Cooking Light Annual Recipes

Ingredients: 
1 pound boneless/skinless chicken breast, cut into strips

1 red pepper, sliced into strips
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 napa* cabbage, sliced into strips
1 sliced red onion
1 lime
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
4 teaspoons Thai Fish Sauce
1 Tablespoon Dark Sesame Oil
1 bunch chopped green onions
crushed peanuts (optional)

*It's Chinese Cabbage...not wine country! 

Directions: 
(If making the Coconut Rice...start that before cooking the stir-fry.)
In a large-ish skillet with large sides (or a wok if you have one!) toss in the chicken, juice from the lime, fish sauce, and sesame oil.  Cook over medium heat until chicken is mostly done.  Then toss in the sliced red pepper, carrots, onions, cabbage and cook until chicken is finished and vegetables are tender.  Take off the heat and mix in the mint, green onions, crushed peanuts, and cilantro.  Server over rice.


Coconut Rice
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown jasmine rice
1 can coconut milk (you can go low fat if you want but there are rumors that coconuts are actually good for you! :) )

Directions:
Cook rice as directed on your package or toss into a rice cooker* except instead of 3 cups water, use the coconut milk.  I also added about 1/4 cup of water just to thin it out a bit.  When it's tender, serve with the stir fry.  This also tastes amazing with a little spritz of lime juice. 

*My man got ours free from Coke Reward Points! Thank you fellow office workers obsessed with their cokes! I would highly recommend getting a little $20 rice cooker if you're a big fan of rice dishes.  It makes it so easy.   

Vegetarian/Vegan Option:  Take out the chicken and fish sauce and instead use a little soy sauce, tofu or shelled edamame, extra veggies like mung bean sprouts/more peppers/broccoli/water chestnuts... play around with it and have fun.

Emily's Vegetarian Curry & Hummus

Last night was generic* Middle Eastern Night at our house!  I made this vegetarian curry recipe given to me by my friend Emily.  She blogs about her poetry and photography here.  It's awesome!  You can go and check it out... I'll wait.

(Insert hold music here.)

See? I told you it's awesome!  Anyway!  I combined the curry with homemade hummus and blue corn tortilla chips.  Overall, a delicious generic* Middle Eastern supper.

*Not sure which country this particular kind of dish would be made.   

Emily's Vegetarian Curry

Ingredients

¼ cup oil (I used a bit less..)

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves

1 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 ½ Tablespoon curry powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

14oz can diced tomatoes (no need to drain)

½ tsp salt

2 ½ cup diced potatoes

3 small med zucchini, sliced*

¾ cup dry roasted, unsalted cashews

1 TBsp lemon juice

Rice (whatever kind you like. I used a Texmati Blend)

Plain yogurt ( I used a plain, unsweetened soy yogurt)

*The zucchini in the store looked gross, so I opted for the asparagus that was on sale.  It worked well.  

Directions: 

Begin cooking your rice according to the package. I just throw mine in our rice cooker. 

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion, garlic, and ginger and saute 5 minutes.  Mix in curry powder and cumin and cook two minutes to toast spices.  Add tomatoes and 1 cup water and bring to a boil.  Stir in potatoes and cover pan.  Cook at a gentle simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Remove the cover of the pan and add zucchini and cashews.  Cook uncovered until zucchini are tender, about 10 minutes.  Mix in lemon juice. Serve over rice with a spoonful of plain yogurt on top.  YUM.  (You might notice that there is no yogurt on top in the picture.... I forgot it until I took my first bite!  Then I hopped to add it....it makes a big difference in the taste.) 


Homemade Hummus
Adapted from Hummus III on All Recipes

Ingredients  2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained 1/3 cup tahini 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup Extra Virgin olive oil paprika

Directions: 
 Cook the garbanzo beans (chick peas) in water on the stove for about 10-15 minutes, or until they are softened.  Cool them in a bowl of cold water.  Drain. Toss beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic and olive oil into a food processor or manly blender.  Process away until smooth! I like to add some water or olive oil as it processes to help it come to a smooth constancy.  When it's the way you like it, spoon it out into a bowl and make a well in the middle.  Pour a little olive oil in the center and sprinkle paprika around it for the full Middle Eastern Restaurant effect.  Enjoy!