Chicken with vegetables in coconut-peanut sauce

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 m.-large broccoli
• 3 large carrots
• 1 bell pepper(s), red
• 1 zucchini
• 150 g mung bean sprouts
• ½ bunch of spring onions
• 1 can coconut milk (400 ml)
• 700 ml vegetable stock
• 1 can peanuts, salted, alternatively peanut butter with crunch
• 1 red chili pepper(s)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 400 g chicken breast or chicken schnitzel
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• salt and pepper
• 1 stalk of lemongrass

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

Asian

Wash the vegetables and peel the carrots. Then cut the carrots diagonally into approximately 0.5 cm thick slices. Halve the zucchini and also cut diagonally into pieces – approximately 0.5 cm. Remove the seeds from the bell pepper and cut it into thumb-thick strips. Cut the stem off the broccoli and cut the head into small florets. Tip: I like to use the stem as well – clean the stem and cut it into approximately 0.5 cm slices. If you don’t like it, leave it out. Now slice the spring onions into rings. Pound the lemongrass at the end of the stem (this works best with a meat tenderizer or the bottom of a saucepan). Deseed the chili pepper and cut it into fine rings. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Place about 3/4 of the peanuts in a tall container, add 1 tablespoon of oil, and process in a blender until you get a slightly coarser peanut butter. Tip: Roast the remaining peanuts and then add them to the dish. If you want to save yourself the trip, simply use 2 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter. You’re more likely to have a can of peanuts around the house than peanut butter, and it’s actually quick to make. You don’t necessarily have to buy a whole jar. Heat some oil in a pot while you cut the chicken into pieces. Add the meat to the oil, sear all over, and let it brown slightly. Add the garlic, chili, and spring onions and fry them, then add the lemongrass to the meat and sauté. Pour in the vegetable stock and simmer briefly. Since the carrots take a little longer to cook than the other vegetables, add them to the pot first and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Then add the remaining vegetables, the peanut butter, and the coconut milk to the pot and cook for another 4-5 minutes on medium heat, until the vegetables are tender. Remove the lemongrass and season with salt and pepper. If the sauce is too thin, you can thicken it with 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch. When the sauce is ready, stir in the mung bean sprouts and let them simmer briefly. Then serve, sprinkled with the remaining roasted peanuts. Serve with jasmine rice. It’s also delicious with rice noodles, for example.