Author Topic: Chicken and Cashews with Coconut Satay Sauce and Coconut Rice (with photo)  (Read 177614 times)

Offline quirkycooking

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Chicken and Cashews with Coconut Satay Sauce and Coconut Rice
Serves 8



This is an all-in-one meal - while the sauce is cooking in the jug, the coconut rice is steaming in the basket above it, and the chicken and veges in the Varoma tray on top.  This is one of our favourite quick-and-easy meals... when I don't feel like cooking, I can have this on the table in half an hour. I start the rice cooking and chicken cooking while I chop up the veges, adding them as I go. (Adapted from the Chicken and Cashews recipe in the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook - but with my coconut satay sauce!)

The first 3 steps, marinating the chicken, can be done ahead of time for more flavour - but if you're doing it at the last minute like I usually am, don't worry, it still tastes good!

1. Cut chicken into smallish cubes (about 1.5cm square) or slices and place in a bowl:
- 300g - 400g chicken breasts or thighs

2. Chop in Thermomix bowl for 5 seconds, speed 7:
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1-2 cms fresh ginger

  Scrape out with spatula and mix with chicken in bowl.  (Don't wash out Thermomix bowl.)

3. Add to chicken, mix in, cover, and set aside:
- a couple of tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce
- a splash of sesame oil


4. Pour into Thermomix bowl:
- 450g coconut cream (1 tin)
- 750g water


5. Sit lid on top of jug, and rice basket on top of lid. Set scales and weigh rice into basket:
- 400g basmati rice (or less if you're cooking for less people)
    Remove basket and lid, rinse rice under tap (in basket), place basket in jug, then replace lid and lock into place.

6.  Place Varoma tray on top of lid, tip chicken into it and spread out so there's holes open for the steam to come through.  Start cooking at Varoma temperature, 20 minutes, speed 4.

7. Meanwhile, chop up the veges and place them into the Varoma as it's heating up.  I start chopping the harder veges first and put them in as I get them chopped, leaving the ones like snow peas, capsicum and shallots until the end.  Make sure there's a hole in the middle for the steam to get through.  Here's a list of suggested veges - use what you've got:
- some thin wedges of onion
- 2 stalks of celery, leaves removed, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- broccoli, small pieces
- green beans
- chinese cabbage, thinly sliced
- boy choy, thinly sliced
- red (and/or green) capsicum, thinly sliced
- snow peas
- shallots, sliced and sprinkled on top


8. Sprinkle over the top of the veges:
- some sesame seeds
- a handful of cashews (roasted or raw)
- a dash of sesame oil
- a dash of tamari (or soy sauce)


9. When the time's up, remove the rice (placing in the Thermoserver to keep warm), and stir the chicken and veges, breaking the chicken apart and making sure there are holes unblocked for the steam to get through. Cook for another 5 or 10 minutes on Varoma temperature, speed 2, checking that the chicken is cooked through.  You may need to add a little more water if there's not much left in the bowl.  Once cooked, remove Varoma tray while you finish the sauce.  (Tip: You can take the lid off the Thermoserver with the rice in it, and sit the Varoma tray on top so they both stay warm.)

10. To the juices and coconut cream left in the bowl, add the following ingredients and blend on speed 9 for 1 minute:
- a couple of handfuls of raw cashews
- 1 inch of fresh red chilli (or more if you like it hotter)
- a good handful of fresh parsley or coriander
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 inch of fresh ginger
- a couple of tablespoons of tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon of Rapadura (optional)
- a tablespoon of chicken stock paste (or vege stock paste)

(I don't measure - just chuck in what you think, blend it, taste it, and adjust if necessary!)

Serve immediately - rice, chicken and veges with cashews on top, and sauce drizzled over liberally!  

Hope you like it! :)

Opi2kenopi: It would feed several hungry adults easily, and I probably used half the stated amount of rice.

Quirkycooking: I often feed 10 adults with this meal, using the full amount of rice (with a breadroll each and maybe a bit of salad).
Can use macadamias for the satay sauce instead of cashews.
Yes, coconut milk works fine.

Cuilidh: I made this with tofu yesterday and also made naan bread to go with it - the tofu version was gorgeous - thanks for the recipe.  I simply substituted tofu (I had a 350 g block of firm tofu) wherever chicken was mentioned.  I did marinate the tofu for a couple of hours at the beginning, though, and I think that helped.

Maddy: I used chicken thighs, and because I cut 700g, all up I cooked them for 30-35 mins.
My veggie supply was really sparse, so I used 500g of frozen veggies, and cooked that for the same time on the top varoma dish.  All cooked perfectly.

nola276: Made this today for lunch except that I used fish in parcels instead.  Drizzled the marinade over the fish parcels and then sealed the foil.  Popped them in the bottom of the Varoma, put the veges in top, rice in basket and made the sauce at the end.

rostess: I made this last night with peanut butter and it was delicious!

Mrs KK: I substituted Coconut milk for carnation light & creamy coconut flav evaporated milk and quinoa instead of rice (to keep the calories down)... This will definitely become a regular in our house. I did everything else as instructed in the recipe although I used more chicken and had to increase the cooking time.  

Droverjess:Made 300 g rice quantity, but full quantity everything else.
 Only had 250g creamed coconut.
Used 280g cooked chicken. Marinated and put in top bit of varoma for 10 minutes.
Used onion, leek, carrot, sweetheart cabbage, 4 mushrooms and a T of frozen shallots.

Blackwood:I'm not a fan of coriander, so I used parsley instead, and as I said, only a little bit of chilli paste (the stuff in a tube from the produce section of Woolies)

INAID:I use about 500g chicken and reduce the rice by half. Otherwise it feeds an army!

LauraTO: The sauce is really nice the next day with salmon done in the varoma.

Meganjane: I decided I'd make this tonight, but after reading the recipe, I changed it. Since I was experimenting, it's not perfect, but the resultant meal was delicious.

Chicken& Vege Satay

1 shallot, peeled and halved
1 red chilli, chopped (de-seed if you don't like heat)
2 cm piece fresh ginger, sliced
1 Tbsp raw sugar

Chop all on speed 5 for a few seconds. Scrape down and add 15g oil. Sauté on Varoma for 3 minutes, speed 1.

4 Chicken Thighs, sliced into 2cm by 1/2 cm strips

Add chicken to bowl and sauté on Varoma for 5 minutes, speed 1 to 2. Use spatula to move chicken around as necessary.

While cooking, cut up vegies - 2 carrots, 2 sticks celery, broccoli, 1/2 onion, 1/4 Chinese Cabbage and 3 spring onions.

1 x 175ml can Coconut Milk + 1 can of water
3 Tbsp TM Nut Paste
2 tsp Vege or Chicken Stock
2 Kaffir Lime Leaves

Add the above to the bowl with the chicken and cook for 5 more minutes on Varoma, speed 1.
Remove from bowl and place in Thermoserver.

Don't rinse bowl. Add 1 litre hot water

Measure out 250g Jasmine Rice into basket and rinse under cold water. Place basket into bowl and place harder vegetables (carrot, celery, onion) into Varoma Base. Place broccoli into Varoma Tray.
Leave cabbage and spring onions until later.
Programme TM to cook on Varoma, speed 3 for 16 minutes. After 10 minutes, place vegetables from basket into Thermoserver with Chicken. Transfer broccoli to base and place cabbage and spring onion in tray over the top. Continue cooking.

When time is up, transfer remaining vegies to Thermoserver and mix well. Place rice into a serving bowl.


« Last Edit: July 02, 2014, 08:00:14 pm by Cornish Cream »
Quirky Cooking: http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com/
Thermomix Consultant, Atherton Tablelands, FNQ, Australia.

Offline maddy

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Sounds & looks really beautiful Jo!  :-*
I will have to wait a couple of days though......it seems all dishes I make at the moment are chicken  :P
.........EAT CAKE!

Offline quirkycooking

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Yes, you can 'overload' on just one meat, can't you!  :)
Quirky Cooking: http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com/
Thermomix Consultant, Atherton Tablelands, FNQ, Australia.

Offline maddy

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I guess because it's such a versatile meat, and the cooking estimates are more consistent than red meat.
I will look forward to making it though   8)
.........EAT CAKE!

Offline cookie1

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Yes, we find that we often have heaps of chicken meals. I have to be conscious of throwing in some beef ones occasionally.
May all dairy items in your fridge be of questionable vintage.

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Offline zebraa

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Oh thankyou - this looks so good. I am thinking this is going to be on my rotation of easy, quick meals.

Offline quirkycooking

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Yay!  The recipe looks long, but it's really not  :)
Quirky Cooking: http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com/
Thermomix Consultant, Atherton Tablelands, FNQ, Australia.

Offline johnro

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Thanks Jo for the posting - I was showing a friend your blog yesterday and we both commented on this recipe - yummo! Agree with the chicken overload comment - but we so enjoy chicken!!!  :)  :)
Robyn from Rockhampton, Qld  :)

I used to have a handle on life, then it broke.

Offline achookwoman

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Jo, thanks for the recipe, photo and the manner in which you explain the method.  This looks like a good way to use up all those veggies that are in the fridge.

Offline quirkycooking

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Thanks Robyn  :)

Yes, a very good way to use up bits and peices of veges!!   ;)
Quirky Cooking: http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com/
Thermomix Consultant, Atherton Tablelands, FNQ, Australia.

Offline ClareN

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Re: Chicken and Cashews with Coconut Satay Sauce and Coconut Rice (with photo)
« Reply #10 on: January 10, 2011, 02:43:43 am »
YUM!  Will be giving this a go for sure!

Offline opi2kenopi

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Re: Chicken and Cashews with Coconut Satay Sauce and Coconut Rice (with photo)
« Reply #11 on: January 11, 2011, 08:37:03 pm »
I was half way through eating this delicious meal before I realised I'd forgotten to take a photo (so unlike me!)!  Thanks for the recipe Jo, we all loved it.  Using the cashews in that manner is different to anything we've had before in this family, but from what I read it's very common to blitz them up for dairy free 'cream' sauces etc.  It was smooth and creamy and lovely.

I have given it 5 stars in my recipe program on my computer and added it to my regulars list!  ;D

Offline quirkycooking

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Re: Chicken and Cashews with Coconut Satay Sauce and Coconut Rice (with photo)
« Reply #12 on: January 11, 2011, 09:14:49 pm »
Yay!!  Glad you liked it opi2kenopi!!  ;D
Quirky Cooking: http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com/
Thermomix Consultant, Atherton Tablelands, FNQ, Australia.

Offline fundj&e

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Re: Chicken and Cashews with Coconut Satay Sauce and Coconut Rice (with photo)
« Reply #13 on: January 11, 2011, 09:31:01 pm »
I must say the way you explain very step is very easy to understand.

I made the tzatziki from the EDC and the lemon from the list was missing from the method 
I know some of my friends would have panicked and not make it

ciao
i don't need a recipe i'm italian

Offline opi2kenopi

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Re: Chicken and Cashews with Coconut Satay Sauce and Coconut Rice (with photo)
« Reply #14 on: January 12, 2011, 01:52:58 am »
Yep, just as good for leftovers for lunch the next day!!   ;D ;D (she says licking the last drop of sauce from the fork  ;) ;) )...

I meant to say in my earlier post that the meal is really filling.  It would feed several hungry adults easily, and I probably used half the stated amount of rice.  It's good to know that the TMX is capable of making a fabulous meal big enough for many people.

Love this recipe  :)