Peanut butter chicken
Peanut butter is a store-cupboard hero and makes a great sauce in this quick Indonesian-style peanut butter chicken. The secret is to get the right balance of sweet, salty, sour and hot. Serve with rice and/or steamed greens.
Each serving provides 431 kcal, 27g protein, 10g carbohydrates (of which 8g sugars), 30g fat (of which 18g saturates), 3.5g fibre and 1.4g salt.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
- 4 large chicken thighs, skin removed and boneless, each cut into 8 chunks
- 2 large shallots, peeled and sliced
- 2 red peppers, cut into long 1cm/½in-wide slices
- 1 red chilli, seeds removed and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 400ml tin coconut milk
- 4 tbsp peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
- 2 limes, juice only
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves, to garnish (optional)
Method
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Fry the chicken for 5 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so. Turn the heat down to low, add the shallots, red peppers, chilli and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened.
Stir in the coconut milk and peanut butter. Half-fill the coconut milk tin with water and add to the pan. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and cook over a medium heat for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked.
If you want to thicken the peanut butter sauce, remove the lid and boil to reduce the sauce to a coating consistency. Stir in the lime juice and soy sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary – you may need a touch more soy sauce or a little more lime juice to balance out the sweet-saltiness.
Garnish with the chopped coriander, if using, and serve with white rice and/or steamed greens.