Crunchy Peanut Butter Chicken - Chinese Buffet Style

This is my absolute favorite dish from Chinese buffets, although not ever buffet has it. So it can be hard to find. You will notice that I have borrowed the marinade and peanut sauce from my Chicken Satay recipe, because those have the closest flavor to the chicken dish from the buffets. But instead of grilling the chicken on wooden skewers and dipping it in the sauce, we are breading/frying the chicken and drizzling the sauce over it-- the way they do at the buffets.

Ingredients:

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 cups panco breadcrumbs

¼ cup unsalted peanuts

Cooking oil of your choice (enough to keep the bottom of your pan in ¼ inch coating)

Marinade from my Chicken Satay recipe

Peanut Sauce from my Chicken Satay recipe  

Chicken marinade:

¼ cup sweetened condensed milk

½ cup finely chopped lemon grass

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon curry powder

Fresh ground pepper

Satay Sauce (makes about 2 cups of sauce):

13.5oz can coconut milk (save ¼ for basting meat)

3 tsp curry paste (3 tsp curry powder mixed with a tiny amount of water to form a paste)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

4 to 6 tablespoons peanut butter (I like crunchy/chunky peanut butter for a more authentic touch)

Directions:

1. Flatten the chicken breasts with a mallet until they are about ½ inch thick. Combine the marinade ingredients together in a bowl (chicken included). Blend well and let marinade in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

2. Remove chicken from marinade bowl, leaving any extra marinade behind. Keep the panko bread crumbs in a bowl. If using peanuts, place them in a plastic zip bag and crush them with a rolling pin (or whatever you have), or pulse them in a food processor until they look like bread crumbs. Add the peanuts to the bread crumbs and blend well.

3. Turn the chicken over in the bread crumbs until well coated.

4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium to mendium-high heat. Fry the coated chicken in the oil until both sides are golden. Remove from oil and let chicken drain on a rack, or paper towel.

5. Prepare the Satay sauce by first warming a skillet over medium heat. Pour in the ¾ can of coconut and simmer for about 30 seconds. Add the curry paste, blend well. Add the soy sauce, sugar and peanut butter, blend very well, making sure all the peanut butter is evenly incorporated. Simmer an additional 30 seconds. You can use more or less peanut butter or coconut milk, depending how thick or thin you like your sauce. Remove from heat and pour sauce into a bowl.

6. Slice chicken into ½ inch strips. Transfer to a plate. Drizzle sauce over the top of the chicken and serve.

TIP: You can serve the chicken on its own, or with your favorite side, or over rice. Some people even serve it over a salad.