Spicy chicken and a tale of a poorly Tabitha cat

I don't know about you, but you couldn't drag me to the shop to buy chicken breast to cook with, even if it came with a signed photograph of David Beckham with his top off.  That pretty much sums up my aversion to chicken breast, so why is there a recipe for Coconutty Chicken featuring the feared white meat?

It's all because of Tabitha cat.

The other morning, I found Tabitha sick, lying on a cushion and completely off her food. I mean, Tabs is NEVER off her food, so I was pretty worried. So much that I came home early from work and found a vet that made house calls. By the time the excellent vet arrived, the Tabster was a bit better, enough to bite, scratch and hiss at him when he tried to take her temperature.  The vet diagnosed a probable gut virus and prescribed no food for the rest of the day (poor Tabs!) and something 'bland, like boiled chicken' for the next day. So I bought some chicken breast (less fatty and more bland than thigh meat), chopped a third of it off and poached it in some water for Tabitha. She loved it.

The rest of the chicken became our dinner that night. I had to find a recipe that would mask the dryness of the meat and this chicken with coconut milk fit the bill. Speaking of bills - the vet bill was quite high, but it was worth it for the Tabster. She has made a full recovery.

These photos were taken while Tabs was sick, and afterwards the same day:

Before: "Get that effing camera out of my face"

After: "Well, I'm glad that's over with. Now, where's the food?"

So that's the story of how chicken breast graced my kitchen. Here's the recipe:

Chicken with coconut and chilli

serves 2

Ingredients

2x 200g chicken breast fillets

200ml coconut milk

1 tblsp lime juice

2 tblsp fish sauce

1 long red chilli, sliced

100g bean sprouts

2 spring onions, sliced

to serve: blanched snow peas, steamed rice

Method

1.  Place the chicken, coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce and chilli in a bowl and set aside for 10 minutes to marinate.

2.  Place a non-stick frypan over high heat.  Cook the chicken, reserving the marinade, for 4 minutes each side, or until golden.  Add the marinade to the pan and cook for a further 4-6 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  Add the bean sprouts to the pan and heat through until they soften, about 1 minute.

3.  Remove the chicken from the pan and slice.  Serve the chicken with rice, snow peas and the bean sprouts.  Spoon over the pan sauce and sprinkle with spring onions.

recipe adapted from donna hay (feb/mar 2011)

Ingredients, well the vegetable part, anyway.

Chicken simmering in coconut milk marinade, with bean sprouts

Serve the chicken with some healthy brown rice and some greenery

 This has been one of the rare occasions where chicken breast has turned out quite tasty and moist. Thanks to Tabitha!