Peanutty Chicken with Eggplant and Red Pepper

Day four of being wheat-free and so far I feel great. It hasn't been an issue to walk past the bread aisle. I haven't really craved bread or pasta yet - I just head for rice-related foods if I need a starch, like I did for tonight's meal. I wanted something warm, creamy and spicy - and the peanuts added a nice crunch. I decided to use red pepper for the vegetable, which I diced and sauteed with the chicken and garlic in a mixture of peanut and walnut oils. I then added a can of coconut milk, leftover eggplant slices I cut into one-inch strips, and a packet of peanut sauce mix from Taste of Thai. It's gluten-free and the ingredients on the back looked good to me.

 

For good measure I put a dollap of creamy organic peanut butter, some red pepper flakes and spoonful of sweet curry powder. The eggplant really soaked up the flavors in a tofu-like way and was a great addition to this stir-fry. The sauce was thick, creamy, sweet and spicy at the same time. I could have added chunked potatoes, carrots and green beans - but honestly it was great with just the red pepper and eggplant. Served with brown rice, it was a tasty treat to whip together in minutes.



Peanutty Chicken with Eggplant and Red Pepper

2 T each walnut oil, sesame oil
1 pound of sliced and chunked chicken breast
1 minced garlic clove
1 chopped red pepper
1 can coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen)
1 packet of Taste of Thai peanut sauce
6 slices of eggplant, chopped into 1-inch "fingers", about one cup
1-2 t red pepper flakes, depending on how hot you like it
1 T sweet curry
2 T creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup of roasted, salted peanuts
Salt to taste (I didn't need it, but I used lemon marinated chicken)

Saute the chicken in the oil over high heat (but not quite the highest), adding the garlic and red pepper after a few minutes, when chicken isn't pink. When chicken is browning, after a few more minutes, add the can of coconut milk, mixing in the peanut butter,pepper flakes, curry and packet of peanut sauce (there are two in one package, so you'll have one left for next time!). Salt if needed and serve over brown rice - or by itself as a creamy soup - and sprinkle with peanuts. Enjoy!