The original recipe is from Olga at Ocean View Kitchen. She is an incredible food photographer and if this recipe is anything to go by then she is a helluva chef too! I made the recipe as written the first time and it was very good. In fact the marinade was so good that I felt that it was a crying shame to ‘waste’ it and transformed it by turning it into a coconut peanut sauce to top the sandwich. I also like to serve any extra on the side for dunking veggies in. If I were a more organized cook then I would be able to plan food so that extras of ingredients never go to waste. Since I am not I tweaked the recipe to make it work with just one can of coconut milk. Over time I have also stopped making my own slaw and buy the Asian style coleslaw from the store instead, frequently supplementing with the veggies in my fridge. Red peppers, shaved carrots, diced cilantro, sliced onions (white), julienned deseeded chillies, scallions (green onions) all have made an appearance in this slaw. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the day I took these photos I, by some miracle, actually had red cabbage leftover from another recipe so I went ahead and used that.
Sambal Oelek - that great hot sauce love of mine – makes an appearance in the sauce here, but you could just as easily substitute it with jalapenos, sriracha, or any other Asian style hot sauce. I would walk away from the Franks here if I were you. I really do dig Frank’s, but here it simply doesn’t work. KID FRIENDLY NOTE: I have recently discovered that my kids will devour this chicken if I omit the hot sauce entirely and just increase the ginger for extra flavor! The leftover chicken is also great with veggies for school lunches!
Since I don’t have a grill I usually cook the chicken over the stovetop being careful to sear it so I get that delicious charred crust. If you have a grill then I imagine cooking this becomes even easier.
