Zesty Peanut Chicken & Rice

What do my food and face have in common? We both look much better in person.

If flavor took on flesh, this would be it’s form…

Really just feeling the “f” alliteration today…it’s hard to go wrong when you start with a mountain of soft, fluffy coconut rice, heap on piles of green veggies, and finish with a lean protein seasoned to perfection, don’t you think? Especially when it all comes together in less than 20 min to make a feel good, super fuel meal. We’re here for this one and we think you should be too.

Recipe

Chicken
1.5  lbs chicken, cut into small bite-sized pieces
4 cubes frozen ginger (1 T. fresh)
3 green onions, thinly sliced (white parts and green parts separated)
2 limes, zest and juice
2 T. brown sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
1 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 heaping T. minced)
½ C dry roasted peanuts, chopped
½ C. cilantro, chopped
2-4 C. spinach

Rice
2 C. jasmine rice
1 ½ C. water
1 can coconut milk
¼ tsp salt

To Make

Marinate Chicken: mix the chicken, ginger, green onions (white parts), lime zest, brown sugar, salt, and oil. Marinate anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours or begin cooking immediately. We’ve tried it every way and it works splendidly!

Rice: Add rice ingredients to an Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes, natural pressure release for 10-15 minutes. Be warned it needs the rest time to finish cooking!

Cook Chicken: Heat a large skillet, add the marinated chicken and do not stir for a few minutes to get a nice caramelization going. Stir once it begins to look golden brown on the back side. Once the chicken is cooked, turn down the heat and add peanuts and garlic to pan. Sauté until fragrant. Finish by adding cilantro, green onion, and spinach. Squeeze lime juice into the pan and season with more salt and pepper as needed. Serve over rice!

To Meal Prep

This meal is so quick to whip up on a whim it hardly warrants meal prepping, however the rice and chicken components can both be made ahead of time and stored separately for an easy weeknight meal!

Pair With

My favorite? A steaming pile of lightly salted organic edamame (because we’re all about the protein over here). Other great options would be an asian slaw, stir fry vegetables, or broccoli.