All the perfect flavors of Thai in a beautiful, healthy salad, accompanied by fluffy coconut quinoa!
Over this past week, I was cleaning and packing like a mad woman, and on Thursday we began our adventure on our move to Washington. (My husband is still on the road with our car, somewhere in South Dakota currently), but the kids and I are nestled happily in a hotel room for the week! (Never thought I would use ‘hotel room’ and ‘happy’ in the same sentence ever again..)
We woke up yesterday morning at 3am for a 6am flight. My kids have been sick, sick, sick, all week, especially my youngest, the poor kid, he still is, but they completely rocked my world yesterday when they behaved perfectly, (and even slept!) on two flights, one being six hours long!
Now I don’t know if you have a one or two year old boy, but in case you don’t, let me clue you in on something..they don’t sit still. Like ever. Ever, ever. So the fact that they sat all day in airports and strollers and on planes with zero meltdowns, it’s a miracle, and amazing, and I am just so unbelievably grateful for them. Traveling can be stressful enough as is…my kids are rock-stars. I’ll do anything with them.
Food! Oh boy, I am MOST excited about having a normal kitchen back so I can start cooking like crazy again..after the next week and a half in another hotel room, we’re going to be dying for some home cooked meals, I can’t even wait. I made these Thai Chicken Bowls recently and ohmygod amaze-nuts.
The quinoa is cooked in coconut milk and I’m not sure I can ever love another kind of quinoa as much again. It is SO soft, and fluffy, and the flavor..my mouth is watering just thinking about it. It’s just perfect. Don’t even get me started on the marinade…I could drink it with a spoon. The flavors in this are unstoppable.
If you prep everything in advance, this is an incredibly quick and healthy weeknight meal! It’s a perfect lunch for every single day of the week. (I may have eaten this several days in a row, for lunch and dinner. Maybe.)
Plus it’s kind of got color, and we need some color this time of year, you know, to reel in Spring a little quicker! 😉 Do this, you will LOVE it!
All the perfect flavors of Thai in a beautiful, healthy salad, accompanied by fluffy coconut quinoa!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup light coconut milk
- 1 Tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon lime juice
- 1/4 cup chili sauce
- 1/8 cup spicy peanut sauce
- 3 Tablespoons agave nectar
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 1/2 pounds Chicken breast (2 Large), sliced
- 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 cup light coconut milk
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 3 cups chopped romaine
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 1 mango, chopped
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Directions
- In a large bowl, or gallon sized ziplock bag, combine all the ingredients for the marinade, except for the chicken and mix well.
- Add the chicken and marinate in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
- While the chicken is marinating, you can cook the quinoa. Rinse it in a mesh strainer well and add it to a medium-sized saucepan, followed by the coconut milk, over medium-high heat.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to Low, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, turn off the heat, remove from burner and allow it to sit for 5 more minutes.
- Remove cover, fluff it up, squeeze in the lime juice, toss to coat and set aside. (If you can manage not to inhale it in all of its coconut-ty goodness!)
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and melt 1 teaspoon of coconut oil. Add the chicken strips, reserve the marinade, and cook them 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium high heat, add the reserved marinade. You're going to cook out the chicken and reduce it down to a glaze by bringing it to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces to about 1/4 cup and is thick and shiny.
- To assemble the salad, toss the romaine and spinach together in a large bowl. Add the mango, bean sprouts, cooked chicken, and the coconut quinoa. Sprinkle on some fresh cilantro, and drizzle the desired amount of glaze over the top. Divide onto plates (or bowls!) and serve! Enjoy!
Inspired by How Sweet Eats