Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp

(my kids even eat this!!! yay!!)


Ty and I love Thai food!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE! We just don't get OUT enough to go get it. Our favorite places are a little family owned place in Salt Lake City on 9th (can't remember the name, but the food is terrific!!!) and we just recently discovered a cool place here in Salem called Thai Orchid Restaurant. Their food is terrific as well! We also like ordering Thai food at Cheesecake Factory and this recipe is very similar to theirs. It's pretty mild, but really delicious! I got it from a friend in UT - hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing her recipe... :)


SERVES 4

Ingredients:

(curry sauce)
2 teaspoons chili oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons ginger
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground mace (I left this out one time and it still tasted good...)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups coconut milk
2 medium carrots, julienned
1 small zucchini, julienned
1/2 cup frozen peas (I alwas use more veggies and it works out great)

(peanut sauce)
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons water
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chili oil




2 chicken breast fillets



16 large raw shrimp, shelled (or add more chicken and nix the shrimp)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 cups cooked white rice

(garnish)



1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley, crumbled
2 tablespoons peanuts
2 green onions, julienned

Directions:
1)Make the curry sauce by heating the chili oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for about about 30 seconds then add the chicken broth. Add the spices (cumin, coriander, paprika, salt, black pepper, mace and turmeric) and stir well. Simmer for 5 minutes then add the coconut milk. Bring mixture back up to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken. Add the julienned carrots and zucchini, and the frozen peas. Simmer mixture for 10 minutes or until carrots become tender.
2)Make peanut sauce by combining peanut butter, water, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, and chili oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat just until mixture begins to bubble, then cover the pan and remove it from the heat.
3Toast the flaked coconut by preheating your oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut on a baking sheet and toast it in the oven. Stir the coconut around every 10 minutes or so that it browns evenly, but watch it closely in the last 5 minutes so it doesn't get too dark. After 25 to 30 minutes the coconut should be light brown. Take it out of the oven and let it cool.
4)Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces. Coat the chicken and shrimp with corn starch. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add the coated chicken to the pan and sauté it for a couple minutes, turning as it cooks. Add the shrimp to the pan. Cook the shrimp and chicken for a couple minutes, until it's done, then remove everything to a rack or towel to drain.
5)Build two plates (or you can divide the meal into four portions) by filling a soup bowl with 2 cups of white rice. Press down on the rice. Invert the bowl onto the center of a plate, tap it a bit, then lift off the bowl leaving a formed pile of rice in the center of each plate. Arrange an equal portion of chicken and shrimp around the rice. Spoon the curry sauce and vegetables over the chicken and shrimp, being careful not to get any sauce on top of the rice. (I out sauce on the rice because I think it's yummy - no big deal one way or the other...)
6)Drizzle peanut sauce over the dish concentrating most of it on the rice. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of crumbled, dried parsley over the center of the rice. Add a tablespoon of chopped peanuts on the parsley, then place a pile of julienned green onions on top. Sprinkle 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of toasted coconut over the chicken and shrimp and serve it up.







ENJOY!!

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