Baked Sweet Coconut Chicken

 

A long time ago I used to dislike Chinese food. I know who does not like Chinese food, not very many, but I was one of them. Then one day I met and eventually married a man who loves Chinese food. When I say loves I mean he loves it so much I think he could eat it everyday and never get tired of it.

Then he introduced me to Chinese buffets, where I could get and eat as much fried rice as I wanted to. Which was great because fried rice was the only Chinese food I liked. Eventually I started to enjoy a couple of other dishes at these Chinese buffets and I did not mind Chinese food as much.

One day a new Chinese buffet came to town and of course my husband had to try it. It was this restaurant that I discovered a coconut chicken. This chicken was so delicious, it was creamy sweet and just all around delicious.

However, I could only find this delicious coconut chicken at this one Chinese buffet. I looked every time we went somewhere different and never found it. Then we moved and I could not longer enjoy this chicken. I scoured the internet over and over again with no luck finding any dish that came close.

Then one day I decided to scour the internet again in hopes of finding something that would come at least somewhat close to the delicious coconut chicken I remembered. And then the unbelievable happened, I found a coconut chicken recipe, not one but two. I could not believe after all theses years I found two recipes. One seemed extremely close to the one I remembered and the other one seemed somewhat close.

I could not decide which one to make. They both sounded really good, even though one was closer to the actual coconut chicken from the Chinese restaurant. But I figured I would try them both and pick one to keep and blog.

Well, after making both coconut chicken recipes I could not decided which one to keep. They both were very delicious. The first one was creamy and sweet just like the one from the Chinese buffet, but with a hint of spice that I loved. The other had a wonderful coconut flavor. My family was no help with the decision either because they liked both and said they were different, yet the same as well. So I did the only thing I could think of to do. Keep and blog both of them.

To see the other baked coconut chicken click here.

Baked Sweet Coconut Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 14 ounce can coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325º F.
2. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and season with black pepper.
3. In a medium bowl add the egg and beat. Add in the chicken and stir to coat the chicken well.
4. In another medium bowl add the cornstarch.
5. Take the chicken out of the egg and let the excess egg drip off and then place the chicken in the cornstarch and coat well.
6. In a large skillet heat the oil over medium high heat.
7. Remove the chicken from the cornstarch and place in the hot oil. Cook the chicken on all sides until just browned, about 30 seconds per side.
8. Remove the chicken to a paper towel lined plate and pat the chicken to remove any excess oil.
9. Place the chicken in a 9x13 baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked.
10. While the chicken is cooking place the sweetened condensed milk, coconut milk and red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan, stirring to mix.
11. Heat over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.
12. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water.
13. Once the mixture is boiling add the cornstarch mixture to the coconut sauce, stirring to mix well.
14. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce thickens.
15. Once the chicken is cooked and the sauce has thicken, pour the sauce over the chicken and stir to mix.

Enjoy!!!

Nutrition Facts
Servings 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories 465
Total Fat		19.2g
Saturated Fat		11.1g
Polyunsaturated Fat		2.2g
Monounsaturated Fat		4.3g
Trans Fat		0.1g
Cholesterol		105.8g
Sodium		105.6g
Potassium		26.8g
Total Carbohydrates		38.1g
Dietary Fiber		0g
Sugars		29.3g
Protein		32.3g
Vitamin A 3.8% Vitamin C 2%
Calcium 12.8% Iron 2.5%
*Nutritional information will vary depending on the brands you use.

*Adapted from My Fabulous Recipes.