Week 18: Basil Chicken in Coconut-Curry Sauce

This recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook Prizewinning Recipes (which seems to be fantastic!) will handily use up the rest of my coconut milk and keep us in the Asian theme. The recipe liberally uses jalopeno peppers ("This is a mildly spicy dish. For more kick, add another jalopeno chile pepper or two."), but I think I'll cut that amount down a fair bit!

Prep: 25 min

Chill: for 1 hour **the chicken chills with spice mixture before you cook it**
Cook: 20 min
Servings: 4

Ingredients
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 of a large red onion, cut into thin wedges
2 fresh jalopeno chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp snipped fresh basil
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
3 c hot cooked rice

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, combine curry powder, black pepper, 1/4 tsp salt, and chili powder. Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces. Add to spice mixture; toss to coat. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours to allow spices to penetrate meat.

2. Pour oil into a wok or large skillet. Heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, jalopeno and garlic. Cook and stir about 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from wok. Add half the chicken to wok. Cook and stir for 4-6 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from wok. Repeat with remaining chicken.

3. Stir together coconut milk, cornstarch, and 1/4 tsp salt until smooth. Carefully add to wok. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Return chicken and the onion mixture to wok. Stir in basil and ginger. Cook and stir about 2 minutes or until heated through. Serve over hot rice.