Thai Chicken Skewers

Exotic flavor without the need for hard-to-find ingredients or fancy cookware, thanks to one of our readers!

Photo: Michael Waring

By Amy Tughan

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 13.5 oz light coconut milk
• 1 1/2 tbsp red curry paste
• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each), cubed into skewer-size pieces
• 1 cup dry basmati rice
• 1 orange bell pepper (or bell pepper of your choice)
• 2 green zucchini
• 10 to 12 small white button mushrooms

EQUIPMENT

• Metal, bamboo or wooden skewers (soak your bamboo or wooden skewers for at least 20 minutes prior to use)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a saucepot, bring coconut milk to a boil. Add curry paste, whisking it in, and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes, until it thickens a bit. Remove from heat and let mixture cool. Place chicken in a resealable container. Reserve some coconut-milk mixture to brush over your vegetables and chicken while they cook. Pour remaining coconut-milk mixture over top of chicken, cover and put in refrigerator to marinate.
2. Cook rice according to package directions. (NOTE: Amy uses this covered-pot method: Bring 1 3/4 cup water to a boil, add rice and simmer for 20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Then add 1 grind sea salt.)
3. Cut pepper and zucchini into chunks that are the same size as your chicken to ensure even grilling. Thread vegetables, including mushrooms, and chicken onto skewers _ each skewer should be one-third chicken and two-thirds vegetables.
4. You can use a grill pan over the stovetop, indoor contact grill or outdoor grill. Keep heat moderate so chicken doesn’t burn before it cooks through. Grill your skewers over medium to medium-high heat until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender-crisp, turning halfway through and brushing reserved coconut-milk mixture over top of skewers as they cook. Serve chicken-vegetable skewers over shallow bed of rice.

Nutrients per serving: Calories: 302, Total Fat: 5.5 g, Sat. Fat: 2.5 g, Carbs: 39 g, Fiber: 3.5 g, Sugars: 5 g, Protein: 25 g, Sodium: 277 mg, Cholesterol: 49 m
g