Thai Chicken & Coconut Rice!!

I love the flavors of Asian-style food, but since I have a seafood allergy, I hesitate to order it out.  I often look for recipes with the flavor profiles that I like, and adapt them so that I can eat them without any adverse effects.

I made this marinade  using Tamari in place of fish sauce. If you like fish sauce, feel free to substitute the fish sauce back in, just don't invite me for dinner that night ;)

I based it on This recipe.... making my own changes


1/2 can of coconut milk  ( I used Trader Joe's light coconut milk)
2 heaping tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Tamari
juice & zest of 1 lemon
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Salt & pepper

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

I placed all of the ingredients ( except the chicken) in the small bowl of my food processor & whirred until blended. Presto! you now have a flavorful marinade!

Pour the marinated over the chicken in either a tupperware-type container or a reseal-able zip lock baggie.

Marinate for at least 4 hours ( I did mine overnight)


prepare grill; discard any leftover marinade  ( or an indoor grill pan, as I did since that first night that I made these it was almost 100 degrees out )

Place chicken on the grill & let it set for a few minutes ( don't play with it, let the grill marks do their job) If the chicken sticks to the grill, then it's not ready to be moved ; then, using tongs, rotate each chicken breast a half turn to get those oh-so-pretty grill marks.

  flip each chicken breast over & do the same on the other side.

Grill until you reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.  Remove from grill & let rest for 5 minutes.



The perfect accompaniment for this dish was a spicy Thai rice

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 cup jasmine rice
1 teaspoon butter
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric ( that's what gives the rice it's beautiful color!)
salt & pepper
juice & zest of half of a lime

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

bring all ingredients except for ,lime juice & cilantro to a boil in a 2-3 quart saucepan. Stir a few times to make sure that everything is combined then  reduce heat, cover & let cook until all of the liquid is absorbed into the rice.

Using a fork, fluff the rice & add the lime juice.

Garnish with cilantro and devour!

I grilled some zucchini rounds and voila! dinner!

This chicken was unbelievable. Ali could not stop talking about it.  I've made this again, and grilled it on my charcoal grill & it was just as wonderful. This is a must-try dish ;)

on another note..... here is a get well card that a good friend sent to me. I think that it is self-explanatory

the inside reads,

 " It won't be long until you're back doing all the things you shouldn't be doing.
get well soon"


and the little girl in the pink dress? classic!

thanks C~ smooch!

oxoxo ~ michelle