Baked chicken with coconut sauce

I eat a lot of chicken. It's fairly healthy, versatile, and generally cheap. I wanted to do something with the coconut milk I've had in my cabinet for far too long, so I searched online and found a recipe. The original recipe left a lot of things out - like what kind of vinegar to use in the marinade. Plus, the steps were rather mixed up. Here's my adapted version.

The finished product!

I used nearly 2 pounds of chicken breast tenderloins. You can use regular boneless, skinless chicken breasts, too. Just cut them into 1-2 inch strips.

The chicken with the olive oil/vinegar bath

Mix the olive oil, vinegar, garlic salt, cumin and black pepper in a bowl. Add chicken and coat thoroughly.

I did not mix the olive oil/vinegar and spices first. You should, though.

Let marinade overnight. If you're short on time, let the chicken marinade for at least an hour.

Arrange chicken in a small pan and put the marinade in the pan, as well. My marinade ended up solidifying in the fridge overnight, so it was little mounds of sauce here and there. It'll all melt in the toaster oven.


Sprinkle 1 package of Sazon Goya (con azafran) evenly over the chicken. If you don't have that on hand (I didn't), I have a recipe below for an alternative spice blend.

With the spice blend, ready for the toaster oven

Set the toaster oven on bake and to 350ºF. Set the pan, with chicken, into the toaster oven and then turn it on. Set the timer for about 25 minutes.

All baked, ready for the sauce!

Near the end of the bake time, mix the flour and coconut milk together. Once the chicken is finished baking, pour the coconut milk mixture over the chicken. Set the toaster oven to "warm" and set the timer for another 15 minutes. This gives the coconut milk time to heat through and thicken slightly.

Back in the toaster oven!

The original recipe also calls to saute diced red bell pepper, chopped white onion, and garlic cloves. I omitted them this time, but I can see how they would add to this dish.

That is some smooth, tasty chicken. Mmm.

Recipe:

Baked chicken with coconut sauce

2 pounds chicken breast/chicken breast tenderloins
4 T olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp cumin
black pepper to taste
3/4 c finely chopped white onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 package Sazon Goya seasoning (con azafran)*
14 oz can coconut milk
1 T flour

1. Mix together olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic salt, cumin, and black pepper. Add chicken breasts and toss to coat. Marinate at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.

2. If using, saute onion, garlic, and red bell pepper.

3. Mix in Sazon seasoning. If not using additional vegetables, sprinkle seasoning mix evenly over chicken.

4. Set the toaster oven on bake and to 350ºF. Set the pan, with chicken, into the toaster oven and then turn it on. Set the timer for about 25 minutes.

5. Whisk/mix flour and coconut milk together. Pour over chicken after it finishes baking.

6. Set toaster oven to "warm" and allow chicken and sauce to simmer for 15 minutes.

7. Serve with rice. Pour the coconut sauce over the rice to bring the dish together.

*Spice blend to replace sazon: poultry seasoning, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika. Add to taste - about 1-2 tsp per spice.

	Nutrition information: Serves 6    Calories: 342.6 Total Fat: 21.0 g Cholesterol: 93.6 mg Sodium: 100.9 mg Total Carbs: 0.0 g Dietary Fiber: 0.0 g Protein: 35.6 g  analyzed using SparkPeople calculator