Serves 4-6
Chicken Marinade:
2 pounds chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 can full fat coconut milk
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped plus more for serving
1 lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, smashed
Open the can of coconut and using a spoon remove the cream from the top and place into a bowl, set aside. Place the thin coconut water at the bottom of the can in a large container with a lid or ziplock bag, add 2 tablespoons of the reserved coconut cream(save the rest of the peanut sauce), the chicken, cilantro, juice of the one lime, salt and smashed garlic. Mix everything tighter and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Peanut Sauce:
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons reserved coconut cream
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
juice on 1 lime
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup hot water
Place the peanut butter in a large bowl and add the coconut cream, use a wire whisk to combine until smooth. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, brown sugar and lime juice. Whisk everything together until well combined. Add the hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency. It should be a thick, but pourable sauce. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, soy sauce and lime juice if needed.
Every peanut butter has different consistency, so this will determine how much water you will need to add. You may not need any at all if you used a thin peanut butter.
Remaining Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil, split
1 large cucumber
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 can pineapple chunks, drained or 1 pineapple cut into 1 inch pieces
White or Brown Rice
kosher salt
Cilantro and roughly chopped Peanuts for serving
Directions:
Cut off the ends of the cucumber and then cut in half lengthwise. Lay one of the halves cut side down on your cutting board and cut into thin half-moons. Move to a bowl and repeat with other cucumber half. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar to the bowl with the cucumber and toss to combine. Set aside.
Cook the rice according to the package instructions.
While the rice cooks, drain the chicken from the marinade and blot dry with paper towels to remove most of the moisture. Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil in a large non-stick or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken in a single layer (you may need to cook the chicken in two batches*) season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and cook on all sides until starting to brown and cooked through. Move to a plate or bowl until ready to serve.
* If cooking a second batch of chicken, wipe the pan clean and then add the remaining tablespoon of oil and repeat heating and cooking process with remaining chicken.
Place a large scoop of the cooked rice in the center of a bowl. Add a serving of the chicken, cucumber and pineapple. Drizzle some or the peanut sauce on top and garish with cilantro leaves and chopped peanuts. Serve immediately.
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