A Chicken’s Tale: Quick Mango Chicken on Coconut Rice for 2

 

When we last left our hero, she (I) got stuck on a tangent about individually freezing chicken breasts en route to McGuyvering dinner, after returning from our road trip to the Eat Write Retreat food bloggers conference in Philadelphia.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast. I don’t believe a blanker canvas exists. Except, maybe tofu. But that’s another post.

As I said previously, I hadn’t gone shopping yet so I had no fresh veg, except for a lonely onion in a basket and some red Thai hot peppers growing out back.  I was also low on olive oil, despite all the nifty little samples we’d received from the nice California Olive people at Eat Write Retreat. What I did have was a couple of Nam Doc Mai mangoes that had just come off our tree that afternoon.  And a husband out in the family room asking, “Got any ideas about dinner?”

Let’s go tropical!  This would also give me the chance to play with one of my new toys, a Calphalon Unison Slide Non-Stick 8″ omelet pan, one of the many lovely gifts in our conference swag bags.  Really? You use your omelet pans for omelets? Huh. (By the way, you can put this puppy in the dishwasher! I love modern technology!)

Quick Mango Chicken on Coconut Rice for Two

Ingredients:

For the Rice:

• 3/4 cup jasmine rice (or regular long grain rice)
• 1 dessert teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 -3/4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened dried coconut

For the Chicken:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 dessert teaspoon coconut oil
• salt & pepper
• 1 dessert teaspoon ginger & garlic paste (available at South Asian groceries – keeps in the fridge for months!)
• 1 small red chili pepper, sliced finely
• 1  good quality mango, chopped into bite-size pieces

Preparation:

Get the rice going first.  In a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, bring the water to a boil. Put the rice in a fine strainer and give it a quick rinse.  Add the salt, coconut oil, rice, and dried coconut to the pot of boiling water. Stir briefly. When the water returns to a boil, cover the pot tightly, reduce the heat to low, and let the rice simmer.  Set your timer for 17 minutes.  Do not lift the lid for any reason!

Heat a saute pan (or omelet pan) over medium-high heat for a minute. Add the coconut oil and allow it to melt.  When the oil is hot, add the chicken breasts, “pretty” side down.  Sprinkle the “ugly” sides with a little salt and pepper.  If you own a splatter screen, this would be a good time to use it.  Did you catch a glimpse of my dirty stove top? When the chicken is nicely browned, turn it over and reduce the heat to medium-low.

Add the ginger & garlic paste and chili pepper, and stir it well to make sure you don’t have any big clumps.  Add the mango pieces.  Cover the saute pan and allow to cook for about another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is done.

Remember that timer you set for the rice?  When it goes off, turn off the heat under the rice. If you have an electric stove, remove the pot from the heat. Do not lift the lid! Do not peek!  Allow it to steam for an additional 2 minutes.  By then, the chicken should be done.

Okay, now you can lift the lid on the rice pot. Fluff the rice with a fork and portion it out onto two plates. Place a piece of chicken on each bed of rice and spoon out the mango. You should also have a nice little bit of lovely pan juices to spoon over the top of each.

Need to feed more than two? You can easily double this recipe.

We loved the play of flavors in this dish. A little bit of a bite from the ginger and chili pepper juxtaposed with the sweetness of the mango and heavenly aroma of the coconut and jasmine rice. A real taste of the tropics in every bite. These are the flavors of South Florida in the summertime, and you can enjoy them, too!