Coconut Chicken & Spicy Mango Sauce

We’re back in business. I received my replacement AC adapter for my laptop yesterday. It arrived just in time because I have a lecture to watch and an exam to take by tomorrow, eeek.

Getting back into the swing of things at work after a long vacation has been tough. So when I saw this recipe for coconut chicken (with coconut rum!), I was SOLD! I’ve had coconut shrimp many times (practically every time I see it on a menu) but never coconut chicken. Since I had chicken in the house and didn’t have shrimp, it seemed perfect.

Coconut “Rum” Chicken
Serves 4 (I halved this recipe and it worked out well!)
1 1/2 lb chicken breast
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup coconut rum
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
olive oil
1. In one bowl, combine the egg and the coconut rum. In a second bowl, combine the garlic, salt, breadcrumbs, and 1/2 cup coconut. In a third bowl, place the other half cup of coconut.
2. Pat the chicken dry. Dredge in the bowl with the breadcrumbs and coconut. Dip in the egg and rum. Dredge in the bowl with the coconut.
3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Cook the coconut-covered chicken.

I looked at many recipes, though I had pretty much already decided on this one because, well, it has rum in it. Which by the way, if you don’t have any coconut rum on hand (I didn’t) a nip is just the right amount. Sorry, if I’m drinking hard stuff it’s usually vodka. Well, many of the other recipes served up the coconut crusted deliciousness with some sort of dipping sauce. I love sauces. I’ll dip bread in sauces until my plate is clean. I don’t like to waste a drip of sauce. With that said, I made a sauce. I had no idea what I was going to put in said sauce but I knew I was going to make it. And it all began with some mango nectar…

 Spicy Mango Sauce

12 oz. mango nectar (you can find it in the ethnic food section)

1 tsp canola oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp chopped onion

2 tsp cayenne pepper (or more depending on your taste)

1 tsp coconut rum (or more depending on your day)

2 tbsp Greek 0% fat yogurt

1. In a sauté pan warm canola oil, add in garlic and onion. Stir until golden. Add mango nectar.
2. Cook at medium heat, add cayenne pepper and continue to cook until the sauce reduces to about ¾ cup.
3. Pour into blender and blend until smooth. Stir in coconut rum and yogurt.
4. Drizzle over chicken or put on the side for dipping.

Did I mention that now that my computer is up and running, I’m having camera issues?! Well these pictures were taken by my cell phone so I apologize for the terrible colors and photo quality. Hopefully my luck with technology will turn around soon!