Coconut Shrimp with Peanut Butter Curry Sauce

Hold on... don't turn away! Do not let the title scare you! Yes, there is peanut butter, but it's so complimentary! Like other curry dishes with peanuts, just think of this one as using the creamed version!

A couple weeks ago, I went on a date and we made this meal in an Iron Chef competition with other dates. Our secret ingredient was peanut butter and this is what we turned out with. The original recipe came from here, but I made some modifications.

Coconut Shrimp with Peanut Butter Curry Sauce

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• One 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt
• 1 lb cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Pepper
• 2 cups shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened
• 3 heads bok choy, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
• 1/2 pint (about 1 cup) cherry tomatoes

1. In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender but not browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the curry powder. Add the chicken broth, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Whisk in 2 tablespoons peanut butter until smooth. Add the coconut milk and simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice. Season to taste with salt. Keep the sauce warm over low heat.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut butter with 3 tablespoons warm water until smooth. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and brush with the thinned peanut butter. Mix in coconut and toss until shrimp is fully coated.

3. In a medium skillet, warm 1 tablespoon oil over high heat. Add the bok choy and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook until the bok choy and tomatoes are wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Keep warm.

4. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the shrimp and fry until the bottoms are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently stir shrimp; drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon oil around the edge of the skillet. Lower the heat and fry until the other sides are golden, about 1 more minute. Spoon the reserved sauce into the center of 4 serving plates. Divide the bok choy mixture among the plates and top each serving with spoonful of shrimp.

Mostly Green Curry Chicken over Coconut Jasmine Rice

So this recipe is from last night. Its called Mostly Green Curry Chicken over Coconut Jasmine Rice. I got it from my Rachael Ray cookbook called 365 No Repeats. Enjoy!

****Now I made some adjustments to it though. I used half of an onion instead of a whole one, I put in a dash of garlic salt instead of 3 cloves of garlic, I used about 1 tbsp of ground ginger instead of fresh ginger, and no scallions. I diced the chicken into about 1in. cubes. Also, I added about 1 tsp paprika and 1 tsp curry powder once all the ingredients were in.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C chicken stock or broth
1 13.5oz can coconut milk
1 C jasmine rice
3 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
4 6-8oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, cut in half and seeded
3" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 C broccoli florets
zest and juice of 1 lime
1/4 C fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 C flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 C frozen peas
hot sauce, to taste

Directions:
In a sauce pot, combine 1 cup chicken stock, 1/4 cup coconut milk, and the jasmine rice. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15-18 minutes. Turn the heat off and keep the rice covered until ready to serve.

While the rice is cooking, preheat a large nonstick skillet over high heat with about 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces, spreading them evenly across the pan, and brown the chicken on all sides, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and reserve. Add the last tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan. Add the green bell peppers, onions, garlic, jalapenos, ginger, and broccoli florets. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes, or until the veggies start to wilt.

To the skillet add the remaining coconut milk and 1/2 cup chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 4-5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the skillet, and return it to a simmer for about 2 more minutes. Add the lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, scallions, parsley, and frozen peas. Stir to thoroughly combine. Simmer a minute more to heat the peas, taste, and adjust the seasoning. Add more salt or some hot sauce, if you like heat. Serve over the coconut jasmine rice.