One of our family’s favorite meals. This was a frequent meal while I was growing up after we spent a couple years in Indonesia. Usually served with fried rice. I totally wing that recipe or else I’d share that too.
Note: Chicken and peanut sauce can be cooked the day before or earlier in the day of and reheated. Just make sure to reheat the sauce on low so it doesn’t separate, stirring occasionally. Both of these freeze and reheat very well.
Marinade
3 lbs of boneless chicken breast or thighs, fat removed, sliced in strips similar to fajitas
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 tsp. ground cumin
3 tsp. ground coriander
1 cup coconut milk (1/2 can-use the rest for the peanut sauce), make sure to stir can to combine
3 tsp. granulated sugar
1/4 soy sauce (low sodium also works)
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl or pyrex dish. Add meat, separating pieces to make sure they are all coated. Marinate for 3-6 hours.
Set oven to broil at 425 degrees. Move oven rack to 2nd to highest position. Line 2 cookie sheets with foil up and over edges. Using tongs to limit marinade, place chicken in single layer, not too cramped. Broil one cookie sheet at a time for 5-6 minutes. Flip as well as possible and cook another 4-6 minutes until chicken is cooked.
Peanut Sauce
Typically this has fish sauce or something similar but I’m unable to have that so it’s just left out.
1/4 purple onion finely diced (or 4 purple pearl onions)
splash of canola oil (or choice of oil to fry onion)
1 1/2 cans coconut milk, stir well to combine if separated
1 1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8-1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 tsp grated fresh ginger (if grating frozen ginger need 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp of salt
Add as needed after it’s warm….Cumin, coriander, more ginger, more brown sugar or soy sauce (Unfortunately after making this for so many years I go by taste and what I know it should taste like. The goal is to have a nice blend of spices to balance out the peanut butter.
In a 2 quart saucepan, heat oil on med/med high heat and add onion, frying until onion is brown but not burned (adjust heat as necessary). Add everything else to pan and stir til smooth. Heat over low/med heat at slow rate until warm. Too hot for too long with cause it too separate. Usually thickens as it sits after heated.