Old Favorite: Thai Coconut Chicken

I found this recipe months ago, on a Weight Watchers recipe blog that I've been following ever since. I'd link to it, but I just tried to go there and Blogger informed me that the blog had been removed. I'm not sure why, since it was there yesterday, but for now I'll just reproduce the recipe with my modifications, and if the recipe blog ever comes back, I'll add the link then.

Anyway, this recipe is one of our favorites, and one of the only ways that Torsten likes chicken. I modified the recipe to make it a bit lower-calorie, and the result is a slightly soupier version of the original recipe. I actually like it that way, and have also found that if you soak the rice in the sauce for a few minutes before serving, it becomes much less liquidy and much more like the original.

Thai Coconut Chicken: Makes 4 servings; 8 WW points per serving

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless chicken breast, sliced into bite-size pieces
  
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 (13 1/2 ounce) can light coconut milk [The original recipe called for regular coconut milk, which has about triple the fat and calories of light coconut milk. Light coconut milk is not as creamy as regular, but the trade-off is totally worth it. Also, the 8 points per serving is assuming you use light coconut milk; if you use regular, the points are much higher.]
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded
• 1/2 cup frozen English peas [I don't like peas, so I leave this out.]
  
• 1/2 cup canned water chestnuts
• 2 to 3 tablespoons fish stock
• 1 to 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 limes, quartered (optional)
• 3/4 cup uncooked white or jasmine rice [I only use this much to keep down points. If you aren't particularly worried about that, I'd use a bit more rice.]
  

Ingredients

1. In the bottom of a pot, stir together the red curry paste and a little coconut milk to combine.
2. Saute the chicken until cooked through.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients except the rice and simmer for about 10 minutes (or until the peas are cooked and the sauce has reduced and thickened to desired consistency).
4. Serve over hot rice with lime wedges. [This is where I mix the rice and curry together and let it sit for five to ten minutes so that the rice will absorb some of the liquid--you can see the difference in the two photos I've linked to.]

The verdict: This is one of our absolute favorite dishes. We have it at least once every two weeks and we never seem to get sick of it. The flavor is delicious and could pass for coming out of a restaurant, in my humble opinion. The cooking method keeps the chicken tender and moist, and the coconut milk makes the sauce nice and creamy. Plus, it's super easy to make--you essentially just dump a bunch of ingredients in a pan and stir. I do not plan on removing this dish from our rotation any time soon.