So I went for a short (very short) visit to see family last weekend. I spent the first night with my sister Patty at her new Chateau. I was able to meet her new family member Tucker, what an adorable puppy! Tucker is a standard poodle and so well behaved, made me miss my baby boy Bean. Anyway Patty asked me if I would not mind making a coconutchicken recipe and post it for her. I have never made coconut chicken and when looking on the net there are so many different ways to create this dish. I opted for an Asian flair to my dish, but in the future I may try to make it like coconut shrimp, a bit crispy. I hope you try this Patty and enjoy it as much as we did. This recipe will easily feed four with leftover egg rolls.
Start with the Egg rolls so they can cook while making the chicken.
If baking heat oven to 400 degrees, you can fry them as well but baking is better =P
Either fresh or ginger spice either is fine. Ginger fresh is a pain but gives better flavor; I used the spice because I had it readily available. If doing fresh about a teaspoon of it minced would suffice, for the spice ginger I added maybe 2 teaspoons.
1 bag shredded rainbow salad (or you can use 2 cups cabbage finely chopped, ¼ lb bean sprouts, ½ cup carrot, shredded, 3 green onions finely chopped) Salad was about $3.50
Fry meat and ginger until browned, about 2-3 minutes on high heat. Add the salad mix and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until softened a bit. Add the soy sauce (more or less to taste) and remove from heat and allow to cool.
For the egg roll follow my easy steps below. Cook for 10 – 12 minutes until lightly browned in the oven or fry seam side down in oil.
For the chicken portion of the meal you will need the following.
I used Udon noodles (which are a soup base noodle, I cooked them according to the package in the chicken base and then just drained them and used them instead of rice) each packet costs about $1.54; you can find them in the local market in the Chinese/Asian section. Our local Giant sells it. Of course you can cook up some rice and use that instead.
2 ½ teaspoons of curry powder (mild taste I opted to add more) a small bottle of curry powder will run you about 4 dollars.
2 tsp Chinese five spice this is going to run you $5 a bottle, but the flavor is unbeatable.
14 oz can of coconut milk $1.50 a can
Salt and pepper to taste. This should be in the pantry so no cost
Olive oil eye ball it but about 3 tablespoons’ this too should be a pantry item.
2 lbs of chicken tenders this cost me a little over 6 dollars.
In a small sauce pan heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat, stir in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute. (Curry is a great spice and my family enjoys the taste, if you are using it for the first time, start with what is recommended and add more after tasting it as you cook) I obviously added more LOL
Add the coconut milk and cook until reduced about 7 minutes. Make sure to continue to stir as you prepare the chicken.
In a zip lock bag add the five spice and salt and pepper. Remember Shake n Bake, same concept, throw the chicken in and toss until covered.
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Add the chicken and brown on both sides. I know it is tempting to move the chicken a lot, but don’t once seared on one side turn it over and sear the other side, this will hold in all the flavor and juices.) This will take about 6 minutes. Turn the heat down and cover with the coconut sauce allowing the chicken to meld with the sauce while you prepare the rice or noodles which you can follow the package directions.
Let the chicken sit in the sauce while finishing the prep for the rest of the meal
If using the noodles I used, drain the chicken broth and utilize the noodles themselves. Very yummy!
Plate the noodle/rice and the chicken and sauce and an egg roll. This was really very tender and tasty.
This was very yummy and I have to say filling! All plates were wiped clean!
LauraLovingLife 
Forgot to add that you should rub the egg rolls with oil before cooking. =(
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