thai

Tender chicken, finely chopped lettuce, Asian cabbage and other veggies, tossed together and topped with crunchy peanuts and thick, creamy Thai peanut dressing. It’s the perfect dose of freshness that we’ve been needing after all of those winter meals. Dive into this Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad, and you can taste the freshness of summer in each bite.

Happy Memorial Day weekend! It has already been a very fun weekend around here! We’re trying to make the most out of our very last weekend as a family of FOUR! Lots of fun, family time, date nights, spoiling our kids, etc. Andrew and I had a great date night out on Friday! Yesterday we headed to the zoo for a little family fun, and after all of that walking around, Andrew treated me to a very relaxing and much needed pedicure. Today we had a great family fun day outside in the yard, playing and goofing around, and then after nap time, headed down to the pool for some swimming and more fun in the sun. Andrew even surprised me again today with two dozen gorgeous pink roses! What a great weekend so far!

With all of the blue skies and warm weather, I can’t wait to start enjoying some amazing summer meals. What could welcome the summer better than a fantastic new salad? I have been so excited to share this one!!!

A little side note: All of the recipes on my blog are my own, original creations, unless I tell you otherwise. That means that I basically spend a lot of my (few moments of) free time, brainstorming and playing around with recipe ideas and combinations. It also means that sometimes my great ideas just don’t work out, or need a few improvements or adjustments before they’re worth sharing. Sometimes however, I am happy to say that after scribbling and jotting down about 100 ideas for one recipe, there are times when my ideas are successful right off the bat! After seriously researching, and playing around with my ideas for the “perfect” Thai chicken salad, I am thrilled to say that this one is a clear WINNER!!!

Dive into this salad and you’ll feel like you’re dinning at a gourmet Thai restaurant. It’s everything that you have always wanted in a Thai chicken salad, but never thought you would ever dream of creating at home. This Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad is an explosion of textures and flavors that are sure to wow your taste buds, and your loved ones!

Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 4 strips (or tenderloins)

Marinade:

2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
1 teaspoon fish sauce

Salad:

1 heart romaine lettuce, sliced (shaved) very thin
1 medium head napa cabbage (about 1 pound), sliced (shaved) very thin
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated (medium grate)
2 large (or 3 small) green onions, sliced very thin
1 red pepper, ends cut off, and cut into 1" long, thin matchsticks
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (plus more for serving)
3/4 cup chopped peanuts (for serving)

Creamy Thai Peanut Dressing:

1/2 cup natural peanut butter
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon water
4 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce

Instructions

Place chicken in a gallon sized ziplock bag, and add to it: olive oil, honey, lime juice, garlic powder, onion powder, curry paste, and fish sauce. Close bag and shake to combine. Place bag on a clean plate, lined with a paper towel, and allow to marinate in fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
To assemble the salad, combine the romaine, cabbage, carrots, onions, red pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl and toss together. Set aside or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To prepare the dressing, add to a blender: peanut butter, garlic, honey, lime juice, vinegar, water, soy sauce, and fish sauce, and blend together until creamy and smooth.
After chicken has marinated, cook chicken in a large non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium high-heat. Cook chicken until no longer pink in the middle, about 5-8 minutes. Move chicken to a clean plate, and once cool enough to handle, pull apart and shred chicken. Place shredded chicken in a clean bowl.
Serve salad topped with chicken, chopped peanuts and cilantro, and a hearty helping of peanut dressing. Enjoy!

http://elizabethshome.com/crunchy-thai-chicken-salad/

Tender bites of chicken surrounded by baby corn, crunchy water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots, covered in a light coconut peanut curry sauce. This recipe brings “take-out” from your stove to your table.

Do you remember the movie LOL starring Miley Cyrus? Well, honestly the only reason that I was excited to see it was because they filmed parts of it in my hometown and at my old high school! I wasn’t the biggest fan of the movie (it was horrible), but I did love seeing the old hallways and classrooms of my high school. It’s not everyday they film a movie in your hometown, or at least mine.

While they were here filming, the word around town was that Miley Cyrus visited our favorite Thai restaurant TWICE while she was here! If Miley likes it, it must be good! (lol) But honestly, Andrew and I have had a number of great meals there, and of course found a family favorite that we all seem to go back for. Our favorite there is the “Curry Peanut with Chicken”. It has chicken, baby corn, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots in a peanut curry sauce. It’s pretty darn delicious.

It became such a hit around here that one day I decided to put my chef’s hat on and get creative. I mean, why not try and create your favorite restaurant meal at home? I have been working on perfecting this recipe for a while, and now I am finally happy with it!

I just made this again the other night and we devoured it. The boys even loved it too. The peanut butter, curry and coconut sauce combined with the chicken and variety of veggies really make this dish something special.

Thai Peanut Curry Chicken

Yield: Serves 3-4

Thai Peanut Curry Chicken

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
1 (8 ounce) can sliced bamboo shoots, rinsed and drained and cut into match-sticks (cut in thirds the long way)
1 (15 ounce) can baby corn spears, rinsed and drained (cut into thirds)
2 (14 ounce) cans light coconut milk (NOT sweetened)
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
4 teaspoons sugar
4 teaspoons fish sauce
2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 medium onion, halved then cut into thin slices (about 1 1/2 cups sliced onion)
3 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Slice chicken breasts very thin, into strips about 1/4" thick. Put in bowl and toss with salt and pepper, and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Rinse, drain, and cut water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and baby corn as mentioned above, and combine in a small bowl and set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, heat coconut milk, curry paste, peanut butter, sugar, and fish sauce over low heat until they come to a very small boil. Set aside and cool for a few minutes, then whisk in the cornstarch to thicken.
In a large non-stick frying pan, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil until hot, then add the onion and cook until softened but not browned, about 2 minutes, then stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove onion and garlic from pan, into a clean bowl, and set aside. Using the now empty pan, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil, and then add the chicken and stir-fry until cooked through.
Now add the water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, baby corn and onion and garlic to the chicken mixture. Stir together and warm for about 2 minutes. Then add the sauce and stir, and heat for a few more minutes until everything is hot. Serve over white or brown rice.

http://elizabethshome.com/thai-peanut-curry-chicken/