You Put the Chicken In the Coconut and Shake It All Up

Not quite the method, but its about that simple.

Today we are making Fijian Coconut Cream Chicken.

This dish I was introduced to when my lovely friend, Birgit, brought us a meal, I believe, after one of the kids was born.  It was the first time I discovered the awesomeness of coconut milk and jasmine rice.  Both are delicious on their own, but when combined...It. Is. Heavenly.  There are no leftovers when we make this meal.  It's all in the sauce mixed with the rice. Even Brett, who has a tenuous history with coconut [primarily the texture], likes this.

The method is frying chicken in panko and then making a pan sauce with coconut milk.

Very straightforward, which makes this a perfect candidate for a weeknight meal.

Let me set our scene:

It is past 4pm on a Friday.

I've lost count of how many episodes of Curious George they kids have watched today.

Austin's eating the rest of Ezri's lunch.

Both kids have apparently lost their duds.

And I care not... now to cook!

I go back and forth with my chicken habits every few months.  I had been buying chicken from a local farmer for awhile, but its hard to find boneless chicken breasts locally.
And then there can be such great deals on chicken at the store, and this week there was.

So using regular chicken from the store, I decided to cut the breasts in half.  
Being so large, they would fry up more evenly in smaller pieces, so this is 2.5 large breasts.

So now we'll be frying chicken in the usual manner.
Before this I had never fried chicken,
so the whole dredging in multiple substances was foreign to me.
Combine flour, pinch of salt and pepper on a plate.

Beat an egg and thin with water, with a general ratio of 2 parts egg: 1 part water.
This bowl was way too small.  After beating my egg all over the counter, I transferred to a regular cereal bowl before coating the chicken.

Panko.
Japanese-style breadcrumbs, makes for a nice breading.
I had Italian seasoned Panko, which would seem strange in this kind of dish, but it's really quite tasty.
I finally found plain Panko at Cub, which I switch over to halfway through when I run out of Italian Panko.

Now lets bread some chicken.

Roll in flour.

Dip in egg mixture.

Coat thoroughly in Panko on all sides.
This will soak up the coconut milk later on, adding lots of flavor.

Now we're ready to fry.

Heat oil in an oven-safe skillet.

If you don't have an oven-safe skillet, no worries; later on you will just transfer the chicken and sauce to a baking dish before putting it into the oven.

Sautee chicken on both sides until golden brown.

Now that's golden brown.
Nevermind that I continue to burn the other side.

Now for the sauce.
Chop the onion.

Open your can of coconut milk.
Measure out 1 Tbsp corn starch, 1 tsp red pepper flakes (I use a pinch, because I'm a wuss.)

Sautee onions, and do not wipe out the pan first.
Those brown bits left from the chicken are the goldmine of flavor and the foundation of a hearty pan sauce.
My pan was quite dry, so I added another Tbsp or so of oil.

Scrape up the brown bits while cooking the onions.
This will encourage their flavors to meld together, and it will also prevent the bits from burning.

Add coconut milk, corn starch and red pepper flakes.
Whisk the corn starch into the liquid and bring almost to a boil.
May need more cornstarch to thicken, but I like a thinner sauce in this dish, goes further in coating the chicken and rice.
Remove from heat.

Add chicken back to pan and spoon sauce over.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 min until done.
I'm leery of raw poultry and these chicken pieces were quite thick, so I use a thermometer when I can.
My chicken baked to 165 degrees in about 25 min.

Serve over Jasmine rice.
And all God's people said, Om Nom Nom.

This is a great meal to throw together quickly. I've also made double batches and frozen half; it thaws well and doesn't get that rubbery-reheated-chicken texture, which I despise.
I avoid reheated chicken at many costs.
Leftover poultry in general, sorry to say I'm not a fan.
Including Thanksgiving turkey.
There. I said it.


Fijian Coconut Cream Chicken
by Birgit Feig

4 Chkn breasts
1/2 c. AP flour
Salt and Pepper
Egg, thinned with water 2:1
3/4 c Panko
2 Tbsp olive oil

Sauce:
1 med onion, diced
1 can coconut milk (1.5 c)
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 tsp red pepper flakes

1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Frying the chicken:

• Using 3 bowls/plates, mix flour, salt and pepper on one.  Then mix egg and water in a bowl.  Pour panko onto a plate.
• Roll chicken pieces in flour mixture, then egg mixture, then panko.
• Heat oil in oven-safe skillet and sautee chicken on both sides until golden brown
• Remove chicken from skillet.

3) Make the pan sauce:

• Sautee onions, scraping up brown bits. (You may need to add more oil.)
• Add coconut milk, cornstarch and red pepper flakes.
• Bring almost to a boil to thicken.  (May need more cornstarch.)
• Add chicken back to skillet and spoon sauce over. (If your skillet is not oven-safe, transfer to chicken and sauce to a baking dish.)

4) Bake 20-30 min, until chicken is cooked through.

Serve over Jasmine rice.