I can't tell you the number of times I've sworn off chicken forever. Thinking, in a fit of what I like to call "cooking block," that there are simply no more frontiers to explore in white meat territory. Years of sauteing, frying, breading, baking, butter-flying, slow cooking, and roasting, and I'm spent. The chicken is too. Coincidentally, just when chicken and I have decided to amicably split, divide our assets, and move on to new partners, that's the precise moment it goes on sale at the market. A note about me: If you put an item on sale, I will buy one. Unless said sale item is Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies, in which case I'll buy two. Within thirty minutes of spying chicken in the weekly circular, I'm elbow deep in the cold meat case at Metropolitan Market, stacking as many pink packages of boneless breasts as I can manage. And when I emerge, to the horror of the crowd I've elbowed while I was mining for chicken, I feel proud. This pride can only last the duration of the car ride home. Because once I'm rearranging my freezer to fit the behemoth mass of chicken breast, I realize, yet again, that I'm plumb out of ideas. After making a few desperate phone calls to friends for inspiration, and a few consultations with a chocolate chip cookie, I discovered this dish. My friend Emily can be thanked for it. The recipe is for Spicy Coconut Chicken with Mango Basil Salsa, a slight variation from Dave Lieberman's version, only using chicken in place of shrimp. It's so unique and rich in flavor that I may reconsider breaking up with chicken.
The chicken is unbearably succulent- bursting with juicy flavors of lime, rich coconut milk, sweet brown sugar, and basil. It's then topped with fresh mango salsa that has been marinated with basil and jalapeno. All at once sweet, savory, and spicy. The taste trifecta.
-Andrea Mitchell, Foodista staff and blogger at CanYouStayForDinner.com
Comments
September 16, 2010
I will most definitely have to try this. So many wonderful ingredients. Thank you for the inspiration and restoring my curiosity of chicken.
September 16, 2010
Oh, and this also reminds me of a dessert I made a while ago... Caramelized mango with lime, blueberries, and a hint of basil. That would be GREAT with a side of coconut sticky rice!
September 17, 2010
[...] Spicy Coconut Chicken with Mango Basil Salsa [...]
September 18, 2010
The salsa sounds amazing! I just had mango/spring onion/bean salsa last weekend and it was so good. Even though I don't like mango as a fruit that much, it makes awesome salsa!
January 11, 2011
That sounds really good. We are going to have to try it in the next month or so.