Spicy Peanut Thai Chicken Wraps

So, in my attempt to be a little healthier, I'm trying to be very selective about what I buy. I examined the different tortilla/wraps offered at my local Safeway and was stunned to see a 4 gram fibre difference between the tomato wrap (1 gr) and the flax wrap (5 grams). Naturally I got the flax.

Mindfulness. Paying attention.

And supper? ROCKED. Spicy peanut Thai chicken wraps. I modified Raechel Ray's gweilo recipe, and it went something like this. (My marinade, both of them, are better than her lame use of soy sauce. I changed up the veggies and cut some oil, plus used a modified version of this too fish-saucy sauce I found on about.com, and then proceeded to kick up all the seasoning. Is good. I have done both peanut butter and real peanuts, and if I could get a better puree of peanuts I might like it more often, but it's a totally different experience, and I think the peanut butter's pretty good when it's all natural. Better for sauces on things, but using fresh peanuts (1 cup) instead of the butter is great for a natural dip for spring rolls and stuff, and not so hot as a topping, but good on salads.)

Serves 4, eh?

Spicy Peanut Thai Chicken Wraps

1 lb chicken breast or thigh meat, boneless and skinless

juice of 3 limes

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 teaspoon freshly ground PC "Thai stirfry seasoning"

Combine above and allow to marinate a half-hour or so, while you prepare the sauce and the salad mixes.

(If I had had the time or inclination, I think I would've combined the lime juice and peanut oil with a 1/2 cup of cilantro and 2 stalks of (pale part only) lemongrass, a bit of garlic, a twist or two of Thai seasoning, pureed it in the blender, and let it marinate 3-4 hours or so. Would've been awesome, methinks. Next time.)

Salad:

2 cups bean sprouts

1.5 cups shredded carrot

2 bunches chopped green onions

1 cup chopped basil

1 cup chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

Combine and mix well.

Spicy Peanut Sauce:

(modified from about.com)

1 cup chunky peanut butter, preferably all natural
3/4 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
2 cloves garlic
2-4 tablespoons water, depending on the consistency you'd like
1.5 teaspoons tamarind paste*
juice of 2 limes
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Puree together in blender till yer happy-happy. If you want it thinner, add more water, or even more lime juice for that extra citric zing, which I love madly. It takes, like, 2 minutes to make and probably keeps for weeks. So fucking good, and only takes a tablespoon or two to really make your wrap sing.**

Take your mixed salad and toss well. For each wrap, sit 1 handful of salad on a tea towel or paper towel to drain as you grill the chicken and prepare the wrap itself.

Take a wrap, lay it out. If you want to warm it in a frying pan, knock yourself out. 15 seconds or less. Smear about 1 tablespoon of the peanut sauce around the inside of the 10-inch wrap, leaving a 1-2 inch border outside. Pile your veggies in the centre. Slice grilled chicken and put your chicken on top of the veggies. Drizzle with another tablespoon or so of peanut sauce. Roll your wrap the way you roll a wrap. Google instructions. :P

Oh, and the original recipe called for 1 cup or two of sliced cucumber, which I hate, and I instead used some mixed greens and extra herb. MmMm.

I could probably make it more sophisticated with some snap peas, red and yellow pepper, and possibly some slivers of sweet onion or something. Hmm. Will try more veggies in it. Shredded cabbage, possibly.

Tasty good stuff. I'd totally make that again. Easy, cheap, and healthy comfort food. I betcha I could make that for a date, too. Totally guy kinda food. Duly noted.

And mangia. Enjoy.

*Tamarind Paste: I had a really hard time finding this but oh my god does it take it to another level. I eventually found tamarind paste in the East Indian foods section of Canadian Superstore, and it was about $2.25 for 400 ml, which will last forever, considering this recipe uses 8 ml. Mine's called tamarind concentrate, but I suspect it's the same deal. I bet you could throw a tamarind in there, though, if you had the real deal around. Really gives it this rich twist that it sorely lacks without. I found it about a week after I made the original sauce and marvelled over the complexity it brought the sauce. OOH! A notion: tamarind-lime marinade of some sort for chicken... OOOh. That's a little project to try! I wonder! If you can find this stuff, go there! I shall report on my endeavours.

**I've used homemade peanut sauce for salad dressing bases, and will do so again. 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon peanut sauce, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon honey. Combine and use on funky salad with bean sprouts in addition to regular greens and grilled chicken and peanuts and lots of peppers and grated carrot. You could also add a hint of fresh grated ginger and that'd be nice.