Recipe Files: Pad Thai Coconut Chicken

The exact amounts of chicken, green beans and noodles you will want to use in this recipe will depend upon the size of your crowd. For us (feeding 2½), I used a little over a pound of chicken, six ounces of green beans and half a box of rice noodles (approximately 7 ounces). 

Ingredients:

• Chicken
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 8 oz. jar of pad thai sauce
• 1 14 oz. can of coconut milk
• 6 oz. green beans (fresh or frozen)
• 1 box of stir-fry rice noodles
• Crushed peanuts (optional)
• Lime juice (optional)
• Chili sauce (optional)

Instructions: 

1. Cut the chicken into chunks and brown in a teaspoon of olive oil (already heated) over medium heat. While the chicken is cooking, start boiling a pot of water for the noodles. Browning the chicken will take 5 to 10 minutes, depending upon the size of the pieces. 

2. Add half the jar of pad thai sauce (approximately four ounces) to the cooked chicken and mix thoroughly over medium heat. 

3. Add half the can of coconut milk (approximately 7 ounces) and continue to mix until well blended before covering. Simmer over low-medium heat. Taste the sauce before proceeding to see if you would prefer a stronger flavor from the pad thai and adjust accordingly. 

4. Remove the pot of boiling water from the heat and add the rice noodles, cooking them anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes depending upon how ‘done’ you prefer them. I usually let them cook for 10 minutes. If you're using fresh green beans blanch them in this pot of boiling water before using it for the noodles.

5. Add green beans to the chicken and sauce mixture and continue to simmer over low-medium heat. If using frozen beans, you may need to cook them a bit longer at the end. 

6. Once the noodles are done cooking, drain them and rinse them with cold water. 

Serve the chicken and sauce over the noodles and finish with crushed peanuts if you so desire. Some fresh lime juice also adds a nice flavor to this meal, or a bit of chili sauce can be added for an extra ‘kick.’