I fed my kids, put their favorite cartoon on! Made myself a cup of coffee to work on this post peacefully! Let’s say that this is how I pictured the whole situation yaaaah!

Reality: I am holding my coffee with one hand; typing with the other while my kids are running everywhere around me!

Let me try to wrap this post before I get attacked by these 2 little monkeys!

Another chicken dish on the blog! But as you know I never compromise on it being easy, quick & extremely delicious; perfect for your tight busy weekdays & also elegant for any dinner hosting.

Chicken with Mushroom sauce is a classical dish & I believe it is a staple in many houses & restaurants! I don’t think there is an Italian or International restaurant in Egypt that doesn’t serve this dish.

Instead of just posting the classical recipe (that I am sure most of you know), I decided to play around with the sauce; creating a new flavor yet with the same richness of the original.

You might be surprised by the ingredients but somehow they work together perfectly creating this “somehow” Thai taste mixed with the original taste of the mushroom sauce.

Adding coconut cream doesn’t only give a new dimension to the sauce but it also ensures that the dish is lighter than the original recipe.

BONUS: This dish has no butter, flour or cream so it is weight friendly :)

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chicken breast cubes
• 250 gm portobello mushroom sliced*
• 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger minced
• 2 large garlic cloves minced
• 3 cups hot water/stock
• 2 heaped tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp BBQ sauce
• 10 dashes worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup coconut cream or more to taste*
• 3 tbsp coconut oil or vegetable oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Thickener: 3 heaped tsp corn flour (corn starch) dissolved in little water*

Directions

1. Heat a large saute pan over high heat until very hot then add 2 tbsp oil & swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.
2. Season chicken with salt & pepper then sear in the oil until golden & almost cooked through (don’t clutter the pan; if it’s small, do that in 2-3 batches, adding more oil if the pan dries out). Remove from the pan & set aside.
3. Add the remaining tbsp oil, reduce heat to medium & add the mushroom; cook until almost cooked. Add the garlic + ginger & stir with the mushroom until fragrant (don’t let the garlic brown).
4. Add the stock/water; scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get out the sticky chicken pieces.
5. Add the BBQ sauce, tomato paste & worcestershire sauce & whisk to dissolve into the water/stock.
6. Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce heat to medium low to maintain a simmer.
7. Stir the coconut cream into the sauce then whisk in the corn flour/water mixture until the sauce starts to thicken.
8. Return the chicken to the pan, coat with the sauce & let simmer for a couple of minutes until the sauce thickens.
9. Season with salt & pepper then turn off the heat.
10. Serve immediately with coconut or jasmin rice.

Notes:

1. Portobello mushroom is widely available these days but you can use white button mushroom instead.
2. In case of using canned mushroom, just add it to the sauce at the end as it doesn’t require any cooking but the sauce will not have the deep mushroom taste.
3. Coconut cream is sold in cans & widely available in many supermarkets. I usually keep the coconut cream in the fridge & it becomes hard so I just scoop it out with a spoon. In case you are keeping it out of the fridge, it will be liquid so give it a good shake before using.
4. You can substitute the coconut cream with canned NOT carton coconut milk.
5. I use only 1/3 cup of coconut cream because I don’t like the coconut flavor to be overpowering but you can add more to taste.
6. I noticed that corn flour (corn starch) differs from one brand to the other so you might need an extra tsp if the sauce doesn’t thicken enough.