Lean & Green Recipe: Faux-fried Chicken with Ginger Curry Peanut Sauce

Pin ItYou know how you have those dishes that every time you think of them, it brings a smile to your face?  Well for me, peanut chicken is one of them.  It actually has a bitter/sweet effect on me.  You see, right after I gave birth to our 4th child (a very long, miserable, sickly pregnancy AND delivery whereafter I was diagnosed with DVT and almost had to be readmitted to the hospital - sans baby...awesome doesn't begin to describe it). During her stay at our house, my mom introduced us to an authentic Thai sticky rice steamer and fried chicken with peanut sauce (as in, she brought the steamers and all the stuff to make this dish - over and over again).  I died (well, almost).  It was my most favorite meal at that time.  I would eat gobs and gobs of sticky rice with butter-fried chicken and loads of peanut sauce over the top - seriously, for at least 2 meals/day.  Oh man was it good.  

Then, when my daughter was about one month old, I started having really awful pain in my upper torso area - like heart burn, but deeper and a strong pain, not so much a burning.  I suffered through it for another couple of weeks or so, then finally, I went to our family doctor.  

I was diagnosed with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (which can lead to cirrhosis and eventually liver failure) and told that I needed to change my eating habits (drastically) and lose weight!  I was devastated (and in a lot of pain), but desperate for a change.  I started eating a low fat diet (ps - they don't work) and was very careful about my fat content for a couple of months.  Before my current program, that was the longest I'd ever stuck with anything - but it was completely fear-driven, so (as with everything else) it didn't last.  My fatty liver came back in full force and was causing me a lot of problems just before I started on my current journey last May.  Wow.  I had forgotten how awful I felt...all the stinkin' time!  I'm so glad to have that behind me!

PS - for my typical bowl of rice/chicken/peanut sauce, I calculated the nutritional information:

938 calories, 38 g fat, 61 g carbs, 15 gsugars, 41 g protein (and I was eating multiple bowls per day!!)

So...that was a really long way of getting to my point: I love peanut chicken and we found a healthy way to enjoy it!!  Hooray!!

The delectable ingredients:

We baked a whole fryer (they're on sale at Safeway for .78/lb right now!)

Just season to your liking, but for this dish we used curry & ginger.

 Rinse and drain your tofu noodles

Then add to a PAMmed frying pan on medium high heat.  Add soy sauce (low sodium).

Then add fresh broccoli and saute until wilted. 

In a large non-stick frying pan (sprayed with PAM), add 2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped.  Saute to brown slightly. 

Add in all spices/flavorings: peanut butter, ginger, curry, garlic, soy sauce & sucralose 

When broccoli is soft, toss in mushrooms and warm through, then leave heat on warm. 

Both pans should finish at about the same time: 

YUM!  It's super easy, SUPER flavorful and really, really good for you (ie - won't give you fatty liver disease)!!! 

We loved this so much - we'll probably add it to our weekly menu until we get sick of it (if that's even possible)!

Faux Fried Chicken with Ginger-Curry Peanut Sauce

2 Servings

Ingredients:

Chicken:

2  Skinless breast of chicken (raw or baked)

2 tbsp low fat low sugar free peanut butter (Adam’s)

1/2 tsp Ginger (or to taste)

½ tsp Curry

1 packet Sucralose sugar substitute (we've found that the store brands have much fewer carbs)

½ tsp Garlic, pressed

1 tsp lo-so soy sauce

Noodles:

2 bags (8 oz ea) Tofu Noodles, spaghetti style

½ cup mushrooms, raw and sliced (or canned)

½ cup broccoli florets

2 tsp low sodium soy sauce

Open, rinse and drain tofu noodles.  Add PAM cooking spray to a medium non-stick pan over medium high heat.  Fry tofu noodles in pan and add 2 tsp soy sauce (low sodium) and broccoli florets - cook until softened.  Then add mushrooms and turn down to warm.

If using a baked chicken (done yourself or rotisserie from your local market), pull off breast meat and weigh out 12 oz (2 servings) . 

Spray a large, non-stick stainless steel frying pan (set to medium-high) with PAM and brown chicken (just for added flavor) for a couple minutes.

Add in peanut butter, ginger, curry, garlic, soy sauce & sucralose.  Saute until flavors mesh and you salivating profusely.

Plate ½ of the noodle/veggie mixture, then add ½ of the peanut chicken over the top – make 2 plates and enjoy – thoroughly!  Seriously, you’re going to thank us!

Nutritional Information HERE.