Thai Peanut Chicken Bowl
Spicy and peanutty with bright lime and mango flavours, this Thai Peanut Chicken Bowl is an easy weeknight meal that will satisfy all your comfort food cravings.
A super quick marinade of thai red curry paste, ginger, and sesame oil plus a beautiful spicy mango salsa equals a quick dinner full of flavour! Pile all your components onto a bowl of rice and you will have an incredibly delicious meal.
Everything is super easy to throw together; you can even made the chicken marinade and mango salsa the night before, making dinner a snap to throw together.
How long does Thai Peanut Chicken Bowl take to make?
You can marinade the chicken in 5 quick minutes, or overnight, whichever is your preference. Then, it’s simply dicing your mango and jalapeno peppers for the salsa. Toss that all together and let it sit on the counter for the flavours to combine while you cook the chicken.
Let’s talk about the ingredients for Thai Peanut Chicken Bowl
Chicken – I’ve used chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces.
Thai Red Curry Paste – The small jar (4 oz or 113g) was just enough for this recipe. If you love the flavour of it, you can buy it in larger quantities for less money at Asian markets.
Fresh basil and cilantro – essential to this recipe! If you can find Thai basil, that’s even better!
Coconut milk – I used the full fat premium coconut milk and it was awesome.
Toppings – You can vary the toppings according to your liking. I used white & black sesame seeds, cliced avocado, lime wedges, extra cilantro (because I love it!), and sliced mini cucumbers. You could also do microgreens dressed with a simple vinaigrette, steamed broccoli or baby bok chois. Edamame would be amazing!
Can I Make Substitutions?
Protein – This would be equally delicious with diced chicken breast. Grilled tofu or prawns would be lovely as well! Another option would be lightly seared or raw ahi tuna, if you’re feeling spendy.
Coconut milk – You could substitute light coconut milk, but you may have to reduce the sauce a little longer due to the extra water.
The Thai Peanut Chicken Bowl Method
I make my rice on the stove top, so before I began cooking I put the rice on. I follow the package directions for the best results. If you have a rice cooker, even better!
First, make the coat the chicken pieces in the marinade, and put it aside while you make the mango salsa.
Second, make your mango salsa by dicing mango, seeding & dicing your jalapeno, and adding the juice and zest of one lime. Toss all that together and put it aside to allow the flavours to meld together.
Then you cook your chicken until browned, add your coconut milk, herbs, soy sauce, fish sauce, and water, and let that gently simmer for about 30 minutes.
For the last step, add your peanut butter and lime juice from one lime, and allow the sauce to thicken.
Serve this beautifully saucy chicken over rice, and top with your mango salsa, sliced cucumber, more fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, sesame seeds. Lastly, drizzle it all with more fresh lime juice.
Thai Peanut Chicken Bowl
Equipment
- 1 Large pot with lid or dutch oven
Ingredients
Thai Peanut Chicken
- 1.5 lbs chicken thighs Cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated or 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil divided
- 4 tbsp Thai red curry paste divided
- 2 Thai red chilis seeded & diced
- 1/4 cup fresh basil or thai basil chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
- Juice from one lime
- Cooked rice
Mango Salsa
- 1 mango peeled & diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper seeded & diced
- Juice and zest from one lime
Toppings
- White and/or black sesame seeds
- Avocado sliced
- Mini cucumbers sliced
- Lime wedges
- Fresh cilantro chopped
- Roasted peanuts chopped
Ideas for accompaniments
- Steamed broccoli
- Steamed baby bok choi
- Edamame beans
- Picked ginger
Instructions
- Prepare your rice, depending on your desired method and number of servings.
- Combine 3 tablespoons of the red curry paste with the ginger and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a bowl. Add diced chicken and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Dice the mango. Seed and dice the jalapeno. Combine in a small bowl, and add the juice and zest from one lime. Stir well and set aside for the flavours to combine.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven with lid, heat the remaining tablespoon of sesame oil over medium high heat. Add chicken, and cook until browned, about 2-4 minutes.
- Add remaining tablespoon of red curry paste, herbs, coconut milk, thai chilis, soy sauce and fish sauce and stir until bubbling.
- Reduce heat to low, partially cover the pot and let simmer for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, add peanut butter and lime juice and let cook until thickened, about another 5 minutes.
- Serve over rice and top with sesame seeds, sliced cucumber, mango salsa, and more fresh cilantro. Finish by squeezing lime wedges over the whole thing — enjoy!
Notes
