You've heard it from me before: I am not a great planner. One day, I forgot that one of my friends was coming over to dinner. I had practically NOTHING in my fridge and pantry. But, I had peanut butter and chicken. Thus, this dish was thrown together at the last minute. On a good day, I can knock out the entire thing (prep time and all) in about 20 minutes. Can't beat that, right?
Here's the ingredient list:
4-6 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
Veggies (I used a full head of broccoli in this version)
1/2 c - 2/3 c "natural" peanut butter
1/4 c low-sodium soy sauce
A splash of Worcestershire sauce
Red pepper flakes, ginger powder, garlic salt, and garlic powder to taste
A "finisher" (I used chickpeas in this version)
I have gotten many requests for this recipe, and I have to say the hardest part about winging a recipe is getting it down on paper with finite measurements. I believe my first trial suggested a "glob" of peanut butter. In any case, I'll explain the reasoning on some of the ingredients as we go! When I cube my chicken breasts, I keep them in relatively large bite-sized pieces (1-1.5" cubed). This makes them an easy forkful.
I preheat my pan on medium. When it's warmed up, I do a quick spray with some vegetable oil and throw the cubed chicken in! Then, I season with garlic salt, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and ginger powder. I'm very liberal with the ginger powder and garlic salt. I have a MAJOR addiction to garlic salt, though, so I'd scale back on that if you're sensitive to saltiness. I compensate for the extra salt by using low-sodium soy sauce. It's not just for your health! The chicken produces a lot of water as it cooks. Drain it periodically with a baster or a collander, or the sauce will be quite watery and won't thicken properly. This image is right before I drained.
When the chicken is almost - ALMOST- cooked all the way through, I add just enough soy sauce to cover the bottom of the pan in 1/8". This turns out to be about a quarter cup in my cookware, but it may vary. I also add a splash of Worcestershire at this time. I've left it out before and the flavor had a really cheap quality to it, so definitely don't overlook the power of a splash!
Once the liquids are added, throw in the chickpeas (if you're using them). I used canned, and I find them fairly salty of their own accord, so I'm extra careful to strain them thoroughly. The chickpeas are added a little earlier than the other veggies because I personally find that they take longer to heat and become tender. My husband prefers brown rice with this dish to chickpeas, so we alternate which one we choose. If it's a rice night, I just throw the peanut chicken on top of a bed of rice and call it a night. With the chickpeas in the mix, I allow the chicken to finish cooking all the way through before adding the greens.
The almighty veggie discussion: LOVE broccoli in this dish. I've also tried celery, carrots, peas, corn, green beans and cauliflower. Cauliflower is disgusting. Of the others, I'd highly recommend celery and green beans as veggie alternatives. I like all of my veggies to be warm, but still quite crunchy. If you prefer your veggies more tender, adjust your steaming time accordingly. For the steaming portion of this dish, I put my peanut butter in the middle - JUST DUMP IT IN - and lay the veggies in a circle around the PB. Steam for about 5 minutes or so. The key is that the peanut butter starts to melt. I wish the picture quality was better, but these are pre- and post-steaming:
After the steaming, the peanut butter is nice and soft and ready to incorporate! If the soy sauce and other liquids cause the mixture to be too runny, I stir the pot until the excess moisture burns off.
This dish can be adjusted for pretty much anyone. I have made strictly peanut chickpeas for vegetarian friends and turned up the heat with lots of red pepper for my spice-loving father. When there are weeks that I won't have time to cook, have cooked 5 pounds of this up for my husband and I to eat throughout the week. It reheats well.
It's not authentic. It's not high-quality. But it is hot, delicious, and fast. Omnomnom!
I've always wanted to try this with real ginger and watercress. If you give it a go with those ingredients, report back!
