Chicken and Coconut Cream

What's more indulgent than a single dish featuring spicy, savory, and sweet? I accidentally invented this sauce in school after obsessively frequent visits to a nearby Burmese spot began to strain my meager college budget. After several failed attempts at duplication (to this day they refuse to give me the recipe), I was pleased to discover that I'd developed something pretty special of my own. Serve over rice.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 578 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (14 ounce) can cream of coconut
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• ½ cup salted butter
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour, or as needed
• 1 cup water, plus more as needed
• 2 medium onions
• 2 medium tomatoes, cored
• 2 peppers habanero peppers, seeded
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 medium jalapeno peppers, minced

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Combine 1 cup water, 1 onion, 1 tomato, and both habanero peppers in a blender; liquefy. Chop remaining onion and tomato into bite-sized pieces.

Step 2

Transfer liquefied tomato-pepper mixture to a saucepan. Boil for at least 30 minutes, adding more water periodically to prevent it from burning.

Step 3

Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour to coat.

Step 4

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until browned but not fully cooked, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and chop into bite-sized chunks.

Step 5

Pour coconut cream into a bowl. Add some of the hot tomato-pepper mixture to the coconut cream, whisking quickly. Repeat a few more times to raise the temperature of the coconut cream.

Step 6

Add warmed coconut cream mixture back to the tomato-pepper mixture and lower the heat to a simmer. Add chicken, bell pepper, jalapenos, sugar, and reserved chopped tomato and onion. Add enough water to achieve desired consistency and simmer for 10 minutes. Add butter and simmer for another 5 minutes.