A Weekly Regular: Peanut Chicken

 

So I’ve finished my exams. Finished my degree. Whaaaat. Yesterday was my first day where I didn’t have any plans and it was just really nice to do whatever I wanted to do (and not feel guilty). So now I have nothing to do with my life for the foreseeable future, I’m gonna try and do this whole blog thing a bit more. I’ve got allll the time now. So here we go, here is my Peanut Chicken/Turkey, a definite favourite of mine.

I just love peanut butter. Like so much. Peanut butter may seem bad for you and it definitely can be if not consumed in moderation (a classic), but using a brand like Meridian means it’s literally just blended peanuts, making it packed with protein and healthy fats. As much as I love Meridian and try to buy their nut butters as much as I can because they are 100% just the nuts, they are super expensive and ain’t no student got time for that. So I find the next best alternative is Whole Earth. Whole Earth pb does contain palm oil, but it’s “sustainable palm oil”, so the orangutans are okay. I bought a 1kg tub for about a fiver, where as the Meridian ones can be almost double. When I bought my large pb from the supermarket this week, the lady at the checkout said “you must really like peanut butter”. And yes, yes checkout lady at asda, yes I do.

This time I used turkey steaks instead of chicken, as they’re generally cheaper and very lean. I served mine with butternut squash and sweet potato mash, as I managed to pick up a reduced microwave mix from Co Op for about 60p, then just added a teaspoon of garlic and herb cream cheese, dash of milk and plenty of salt and pepper when I mashed them. I also served it with fresh spinach and red pepper, but have previously switch out the mash for half an avocado and more veg, which makes it the ideal no training day low carb/high fat meal. I can also confirm it is an absolute winner on a hangover.

Ingredients (makes one portion):

1. 1/2 tsp coconut oil

2. One small onion

3. 3 mushrooms

4. 1 chicken/ turkey breast/thigh/steak

5. 1 garlic clove

6. 2cm fresh ginger

7. Chilli flakes to taste

8. 1 heaped tbsp crunchy peanut butter

9. Chicken stock

10. 100ml tinned coconut milk

11. Fresh coriander, or dried if not (optional)

Method

1. Finely slice the onions and mushrooms and add to a big pan/wok with the oil. Cook for a few minutes to soften.

2. Dice the meat and add to the pan to cook. Grate the garlic and ginger into the pan and add the chilli flakes.

3. Add the peanut butter to the pan, along with enough stock to loosen up the peanut butter. Leave to melt for a minute.

4. Add the coconut milk and stir to combine. Taste it, and add more coconut milk/chilli/peanut butter to taste. The left over coconut milk will be fine in the fridge if left in a little Tupperware for a few days. (I’ve left mine for about a week and it was fine!).

5. Finely chop the coriander (about a teaspoon worth or to taste) and add to the pan. Serve up and enjoy.