Ali's Kitchen: Southeast Asian Poach-o-rama

So, I was bored of Googling and otherwise searching online for a recipe that fit the particular ingredient I felt like cooking. The solution: A cookbook? NO, you crazy person - that's NEXT time. When in doubt, grope around in the dark and make one up by yourself! This is not to say that I didn't have help. I used Courtney as a frequent sounding board, and she IM'd me some recipe links that backed up ideas that I already had in mind, but wasn't sure about, flavor-matching-wise.

I started off knowing I wanted to base something around the flavor of coriander (the seed, its leaf - cilantro) and the sensation of creaminess. I knew K would want poultry. I Googled around for goat milk-this or buttermilk-that, but all I came up with were fried chicken recipes. THAT's when it hit me to try my OWN concoction, and THAT's when it hit me to try coconut milk. If something (coriander) corresponds well with something as succulent as lamb, then it must match up well with coconut milk, right?

So now you know my train of thought. Here are the fruits of my (and Courtney's) labor:

Coconut Milk-Poached Chicken Breasts* with Couscous**

Ingredients:

Chicken
13.5 oz. Lite Coconut Milk

1 medium to large shallot, diced

2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp saffron powder, or 3 saffron threads

1/4 tsp white pepper

A "shake" of garlic powder

Salt to taste

Lemon zest to taste

3-4 small skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs.)

3/4 to 1 cup low fat chicken broth

2 tsp (or more) ground coriander

Couscous
Prepackaged couscous
Chicken broth to substitute for water
Pine nuts

* This creates a very mild recipe - much more so than I had intended. Next time we make this, I'll try 1 Tb coriander, more cardamom, a dash more saffron, and definitely more pepper. At least twice what I used here.

** I just happened to have these around. You don't need them; I just like 'em in couscous.

We start off with something very handy for those cooking for 1 or 2 people: Individually packaged chicken breasts. Great for the small household, not so great for the environment.

(It's a lot of plastic, when you think about it.)

Here we go:

Dice your shallots up and toss 'em into the coconut milk. Measure out your spices and swirl together until it's a nice, homogenized mixture. Don't worry if the saffron doesn't release its telltale yellow hue throughout the liquid yet; it will when it heats up.

I was planning to broil this, until Courtney helped me realize that poaching in coconut milk would NOT be a travesty, so I actually marinated the chicken in the liquid for two hours. I have no idea if this makes any difference. I think we made the right decision. To poach (for quicker cooking), slice the chicken breasts into approximately 2-inch chunks. See?

Like zees.

Get the liquid boiling - and - note to self: COCONUT MILK BOILS REALLY, REALLY QUICKLY IN A LE CREUSET. CAREFUL NEXT TIME. Add chicken broth into the boiling liquid, bring back to a boil, and immerse the chicken. I don't really know the first thing about proper poaching, but I kept the cover off, mostly. It didn't end up cooking down so much, because this is a fairly quick cooking method.

During the 7-10 minutes of poaching, cook your couscous like a real American - in the microwave. If you want something a little salty to balance out the coconut milk chicken, substitute the normal water for your extra chicken broth!

Et puis, voilà!

Le yum yum

Feedback from the diners was as follows:

Me: Yum. Could be spicier, but yum. And I finally managed not to over- or under-cook poultry. It's a true miracle.

K: OMG. This is the best meal you've made in, like... maybe ever. You could open a restaurant based on this meal.

(He's biased, but still. It counts a little, right?)

Tarot: WUT U MEAN I NO CAN HAS CHIKEN BECUZ UV ONION? SMELLS GUD. WANT! WAAAANT! DEATH STARE!