Healthy chicken coconut curry vietnamese style!
I’ve taken this recipe from the Happy Pear recipe book and adapted it a bit by swapping the tempeh for chicken and I swapped the low fat coconut milk to full fat. Latest research is that there is a lack of evidence that links saturated fat to heart disease. On my 8 week weight loss programme, clients can enjoy full fat milk, yoghurt and coconut milk, helping to keep them fuller for longer, and at the same time loose weight and have healthy cholesterol levels. We need a healthy amount of cholesterol for our cells, to help manufacture Vitamin D and for our sex hormones.
Ingredients
3 cloves of garlic
Thumb size piece of fresh ginger
1 medium pumpkin (approx 1.5kg) or butternut squash or sweet potatoes
2 x 400ml tins of full fat coconut milk
Juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons of curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons tamari, Bragg liquid aminos or soy sauce
4 breasts of free range or organic chicken chopped into small pieces
1/2 a head of pak choi (chinese cabbage)
6 scallions or spring onions
bunch of fresh corriander
1 tablespoon cornflour, arrowroot or potato starch, mixed with 1.5 tablespoons of water
Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees C/400 degrees F/gas mark 6
1) Peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel and finely grate or chop the ginger.
2) Wash the pumpkin, cut off any blemishes and slice off the top. Usually there is no need to peel it, as the skin goes soft when cooked. Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut the flesh into bite-size pieces. (if using butternut squash or sweet potatoes, leave the skin on and cut into bite-size pieces.) Put on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes.
3) Put the garlic, ginger, coconut milk, lime juice, honey, curry powder, salt and tamari into a blender and whiz until everything is smooth.
4) Put the chicken pieces into a large casserol dish and stir fry in coconut oil over a medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes, pour over half the coconut dressing and mix well to ensure each piece is full of flavour.
5) Put the dish of chicken ino the oven where the pumpkin is already baking and bake for 15 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes to ensure that the dressing is well dispersed. Meanwhile, pour the other half of the dressing into a large pan – this will become the sauce, along with any remaining sauce from the chicken dish. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and reduce to a simmer.
6) Once the chicken and pumpkin are done, transfer them to the simmering sauce and mix well. Cook for 10 minutes over a medium heat, stirring regularly.
7) Finely chop the pak choi, scallions, spring onions and coriander. Add the pak choi and the cornflour mixture to the pan and simmer for about 3-5 minutes, until it thickens. Serve sprinkled with the scallions or spring onions and the coriander.
Serve with wholegrain brown rice or quinoa and enjoy!