Recipe Corner: Teriyaki Chicken with Coconut Rice and King Cabbage

So a couple of months ago I moved out of the comforts of my parents home. 

Coming back from university made me realise how important having my own independence had become. However, it also made me realise, I still had a lot of growing up to do.

In all honesty, I got used to dinner being made for me, meaning I didn't have to worry when I came home from work. So much so, that it came as a slightly unwelcome shock when I was faced with cooking on the first night....

Queue, my freezer being piled high with ready meals and the telephone number of take-away restaurants being placed on speed-dial. I am well aware of the negative health effects that this lifestyle can bring. So, entering into the new year I promised myself a change - starting the buying of cookbooks and the research online, searching for cheap, tasty and healthy meals, that I could easily cook. 

So here is the recipe of one of the meals that I found and loved: Teriyaki Chicken with Coconut Rice and King Cabbage.

Ingredients (for 2 people):

1/2 January King Cabbage, sliced
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
4 Chicken Thighs
1 and 1/2 tbsp Coconut Powder
1 cup Basmati Rice
1 and 1/2 tbsp Cashew Nuts
1 tbsp Ginger, chopped
3/4 tbsp Honey
1 and 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce

1. Boil 350ml of water in a pot (preparing for the rice). Chop the cabbage in half and then thinly slice one half of it. Peel and chop the garlic finely and very thinly, slice the chicken.

2. Stir 1/4 tsp of salt and the coconut powder into the boiling water. Add rice to the pot, cover with lid and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and leave to rest for 10 more minutes.


3. Put a non-stick frying pan on a medium to high heat and toast the cashew nuts (careful, as they burn really easily!). Remove them from the pan and put to the side for later.


4. Peel the ginger and finely chop.

5. To make the teriyaki sauce, simply mix the garlic, ginger, honey and soy sauce together thoroughly in a bowl with 1tbsp of water.

6. Put 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan on medium heat and add the cabbage with 1/4 tsp of salt and a good grind of pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes until it has cooked down.

7. In the meantime, heat 1tbsp of olive oil in another frying pan on high heat until it is almost smoking. Cook chicken in two batches for 2-3 minutes to brown it off.

 

8. Put the chicken back into the pan and add in the teriyaki sauce. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. 

9. When the cabbage has cooked down, add it to the chicken and stir everything together.

10. Fluff up the rice with a fork and serve with the chicken and a sprinkling of toasted cashew nuts...

And there you have it. This meal is healthy, but so, so, so tasty. That coming from a girl who could quite happily live in a world with no veg, and look, there's me enjoying cabbage. 

Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, and if you have anymore recipes to recommend, that would be amazing.

Claire 

xxx