Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Coconut chicken with quinoa recipe

I haven't cooked much quinoa since I fell in love with millet, but I do miss it.  Millet and quinoa are roughly the same size and I often substitute one for the other, but they taste very different and I could never pick a favorite.  I was thrilled to find this recipe in the cookbook of the month because it sounded like a great excuse to cook quinoa again.  I had all of the ingredients on hand (well, not really, but I made it work anyway), and it was a fantastic dinner.  It's not a Thai dish, but it has similar flavors, and I loved it.

Coconut chicken with quinoa (adapted from The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook)
(Printable version)

1 Tbsp olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or use any cut of chicken, with or without bone and skin)
1 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 chipotle pepper in adobo, minced
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp allspice
pinch of salt and pepper
3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water
1 cup light coconut milk

Heat oil over medium heat in a large saute pan.  Add chicken to the pan and brown for a few minutes.  Then flip it over, cover the pan, and cook for 5 more min.  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.  Add onion, garlic, and chipotle pepper to the pan and cook until the onion is tender.  Then stir in curry powder, cumin, allspice, salt and pepper, and quinoa, and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly.  Add the water and coconut milk, bring to a boil, and place the chicken thighs on top of the quinoa.  Cover the pan, reduce heat to low, and cook until chicken is no longer pink (about 20 min for boneless, skinless thighs).  Serves 3.

6 comments:

Ed Schenk said...

I never cooked with quinoa. I understasnd it is very healthy

Joanne said...

Thai food...thai flavors...I'll take either. Or both. But also either.

This sounds delicious! I love quinoa, have never had millet but definitely want to try it.

Tasty Eats At Home said...

Love anything with coconut. This sounds comforting!

Katie said...

Ed - It is very healthy (it has a very high protein content, so it's especially great for vegetarians who struggle to get enough protein). Check out my quinoa post for more info.

Joanne - I'm with you - ever since I discovered Thai food, I've been slightly obsessed. You should definitely give millet a shot, too!

Alta - Thanks! I'm a big coconut fan, too.

Hi, my name is Judy. said...

I just made this tonight. I found it by Google-ing a few ingredients I had in my pantry. I opened a can of chipotles and put the rest in an ice cube tray to freeze individually. I added chopped cilantro at the end of cooking for a little color. Very good recipe. I will make it again!

Katie said...

Judy - I'm glad you found the recipe and enjoyed it!