Thai Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry

Last night I made a scrumptous Thai Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry. I got the recipe from the South Beach Diet Cookbook that Angie let me borrow, but I changed it a little. It doesn't call for chicken but I wanted to give it more substance. Sadly, I didn't take a picture last night.

1 13.5-oz can coconut milk (no sugar added)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp. grated lime peel (and lemon peel if you have it)
1 cup asparagus, cut in 1-in. pieces
1 red pepper, sliced in strips
1 cup sliced mushroom (I used baby bellas)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 cup dry roasted cashews (or peanuts)
1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast, oven roasted with olive oil and salt & pepper, chopped into bit-sized pieces
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce (preferrably soy sauce but I didn't have any and this tasted good too)
1 tablespoon lime juice (& 1 tablespoon lemon juice but I didn't have it)
2 tsp. dried basil (but a handful of fresh would have been sooo much better)

With a hand blender, combine the coconut milk, garlic and lime peel. Pulse to process (the cookbook says it will turn into a paste but mine didn't, which is ok). Pour into a large skillet. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the asparagus, mushrooms, bell pepper, cashews, and red-pepper flakes and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the chicken, worchestershire sauce, lime juice, and basil and simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.




If you have bok choy, you can add some just to give you more greens.

Let me tell you, this was great! I had to add some more salt at the end but it was hot and sweet. It was not quite like my favorite Thai dishes at restaurants, bit it was good enough. The unique combo of coconut milk, cashews and hot pepper flake... so good, I crave it!

You have to be careful not to over-cook the vegetables. I let mine simmer for longer than the recipe calls for because it was my intention to let the flavors meld more, but I guess it's not necessary - I like my veggies a little crunchy.

I cooked up some couscous (we were out of rice) to serve with it for Greg.