This is inspired from a signature recipe from the Cheesecake Factory in the US although I’ve never tried it so I honestly can’t compare! The only thing I’ve ever eaten from the Cheesecake Factory is, ahem.... cheesecake....
The recipe is based on the same principles of their dish but with my own twist on the ingredients and the way it’s cooked too. This is the Swim Bake Run Bang Bang Chicken and no one else's. Hooray!
I made this lastnight and finally decided to write up the recipe. I doubled the recipe and made enough the freeze extra portions which remains my number 1 survival tool for life with a 14 week old baby. One lot of cooking and plenty of meals stashed in the freezer for busy days... happy me!
I also had some spring greens and curly kale in the fridge so I chopped that up and it went in too- always happy to sneak in some extra veggies! A good handful of spinach would also work well as an extra bit of green too.
So here’s the recipe! Hope you love it as much as I do!
Bang Bang Chicken
Serves 4
Prep time 15 minutes
Cooking time 40 minutes
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
6-8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 courgette, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 red pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stick of celery, finely diced
1 large onion finely diced
1 tbsp medium curry powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 1/2 tbsp plain flour
250ml chicken stock
1 can coconut milk
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp sugar
Handful of chopped coriander
150g frozen peas
Sprinkle of Salted peanuts for garnish (optional)
Fresh corriander, chopped
Cooked rice for serving
Method
1. In a large sauté pan or deep saucepan, heat 1tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add in the chopped courgette and red pepper and fry until slightly soft for 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside. (I do this so they have some texture at the end).
2 Add the remaining oil and fry the carrot, celery and onion until softened (2-3 minutes) and then add the garlic, curry powder, turmeric and chopped red chilli. Fry for a further 2 minutes.
3. Chop the chicken thighs into 1 inch pieces and turn up the heat of the pan. Add the chicken and cook until the outside of the chicken is golden brown.
4. Sprinkle in the flour, stir thoroughly and cook for another minute.
5. Add in chicken stock and coconut milk. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer with a lid on. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and tender abs the sauce is reduced and thickened. Add a little water if needed (too thick).
6. Add the peanut butter, sugar and chopped coriander. Stir until the peanut butter is melted through and then add your softened courgette and pepper and the frozen peas. Give it a stir and cook for another minute to warm the veggies through. Have a taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over brown rice. Top with peanuts and extra coriander.
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