Recipe: Coconut Milk Chicken

Since it's getting cooler outside, it's time to get my "comfort food" recipes in order...


Recipe: Coconut Milk Chicken:

"Since falling in love with Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk recipe, I've wanted to try another take on the concept and simmer a whole chicken in coconut milk. How decadent! Read Full Post"

So here's the recipe:

Chicken in Coconut Milk
serves 4

One 3-3.5 pound whole chicken
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 pound fingerling potatoes
2 cans (13 - 15oz) regular or light coconut milk
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
10 whole garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
Zest of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons chopped lemon grass stems
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 cinnamon stick

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper at a rate of about 1 tablespoon salt per pound and 1 tablespoon pepper per three pounds. Heat the butter and sesame oil in a pot that will fit the chicken snugly, like a Dutch oven, and set the chicken in the hot oil. Cook, turning the chicken to get an even golden color on all sides, about 5 minutes total.

Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate, and dispose of the fat left in the pot. Return the chicken to the pot with the rest of the ingredients, and cook in the preheated oven, basting with the cooking juices every 20 minutes, for 1 - 1.5 hours. It is done when the meat pulls away from the bone without much effort and the potatoes are tender when pricked with the end of a paring knife.

To serve, pull the meat off the bones and divide with potatoes between plates or serve on a platter. Spoon over a hefty helping of the milky sauce. Mind the cinnamon stick.

Related: Jamie's Chicken with Lemon and Milk