Slow-Cooker Coconut Ginger Chicken & Vegetables

The humble slow cooker is one of my favorite kitchen tools.  I throw food in it and come home and dinner is ready.  So when I find a new recipe, and something a little off the beaten path, I just have to try it. When I saw this recipe on Pinterest I knew it was going to make it's way to my plate. 

I didn't disappoint. It was favorful, creamy, delicious and healthy. What more can you ask for? One thing I really appreciated was the low amount of salt that it called for.  I did add salt at the table but I would much rather add a little at the table, than have the recipe call for massive amounts of salt to be added while cooking.  My one son said it reminded him of a curry dish without the heat.  He was right. It was like a really rich savory curry without the curry heat. I think you could probably add curry to it to change it up.  I used 2 packages of stir fry blend vegetables and served it over jasmine rice.  It definately will be made again and I hope you give it a whirl.

http://pinterest.com/pin/33073378485885827/

http://www.simplebites.net/coconut-ginger-chicken-vegetables-slow-cooker/ Slow Cooker Coconut Ginger Chicken & Vegetables

Yield: 6-8 servings

Serve this creamy and fragrant stew over Jasmine or brown rice.

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 inch cube of ginger (about 30 grams), roughly chopped
• 1 small sweet onion, peeled, quartered
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into four
• 2 cans coconut milk, not shaken
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 can of baby corn cobs
• 1 cup peas or frozen vegetables of your choice
• For the spice blend
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground tumeric
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients from the spice blend together and set aside.
2. In a mini food processor, combine garlic, ginger and onion and pulse until it forms a paste.
3. In the bottom of a slow-cooker placed on a burner, heat olive oil and melt butter. Add pureed aromatics and stir well. Cook for a few minutes, then add spice blend. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Move aromatics to one side of the pot and add chicken pieces to the pot. Cook chicken slightly on all sides, using a sturdy wooden spoon to move it around the pot. It should get thoroughly coated with the spice mixture.
5. Open the cans of coconut milk and remove the cream from the top using a soup spoon. You should have about 1 cup. Pour the coconut milk over the chicken and with both cans, it should just barely cover the chicken.
6. Drain the corn cobs and chop in half. Add to the slow-cooker.
7. Place the slow cooker in the base and cook on low for 4 hours.
8. Whisk cornstarch with coconut cream until smooth and add to the chicken. Stir well. Add frozen peas or other vegetables of your choice. Cook for another half an hour or until you deem the chicken cooked and the vegetables hot.

Notes

You can certainly use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in place of the thighs, but I prefer the dark meat and find it to have more flavor than the breast. It’s more affordable, too!

In the recipe I call for peas, but you can use any cooked or frozen vegetables you have on hand. In the version photographed above I tossed in a bag of my homemade stir fry packages of vegetables, which worked perfectly with the dish.

My slow cooker bowl can be used on a burner which can then be transferred to its electric base to cook further, but if you have a different type, then simply prepare the first few steps of this recipe in a heavy bottomed pot or skillet and transfer the ingredients to the slow cooker when the liquids are added.