Jazzing Up A Stir Fry - Almond Butter & Coconut Oil

Jazzing Up A Stir Fry - Almond Butter & Coconut Oil... Stir fry's are an easy once a week go to, throwing all your forgotten veggies and proteins from the week into a hot pan, with some concoction of liquids for a sauce served over brown rice. It's my favorite end of the week meal. But sometimes I get a little tired of the routine and decide to spice it up. Usually fresh herbs are a great way to do that - green onion or mint. But this week I used a couple of other ingredients in my pantry.. coconut oil and almond butter.

During my travels to SE Asia, visiting all things coconut, I happened to receive a nice little bottle of virgin coconut oil as well as a packet of yummy little roasted coconut bits. I have never cooked with coconut oil before (side note my most favorite meal of the trip included homemade spring rolls FRIED in coconut oil served with a tangy garlic and white vinegar sauce; to.die.for) anyways, I decided this would be a good opportunity to crack open the bottle. Unfortunately on the plane ride home the stuff seemed to solidify into a solid rather than a liquid but I think that's OK because I have seen it sold in the grocery store that way - or at least that's what I told myself to justify using this new ingredient.

Anywho, here is how I jazzed up my Thursday night stir fry...

Per usual is was the same crowd that showed up to the pan, onion, bell pepper, and broccolini... but instead of just sauteing in grape seed oil I did about half and half with that and the coconut oil, it immediately permeated a scrumptious smell. Once the veggies were getting nice and golden brown I pushed them to the side and added in my chopped up chicken, again adding a little coconut oil and grape seed oil. I let those bad boys get nice and bronzed on each side then gave the whole thing a toss with just a couple little splashes of light teriyaki sauce - mainly to deglaze the pan a bit.

Off to the side I made a simple sauce... About 3 tablespoons of some favorite stir fry sauce, a few liberal dashes of soy sauce, and a big spoonful of almond butter. I obviously got the idea from a Pad Thai type peanut sauce, but since my home is an almond butter home, I swapped the two. I let that come to a nice little bubble until the ingredients were all mixed and the almond butter was nice and smooth. Then I simply added the sauce to the veggies, gave them a toss and let them soak up that Dahlicious goodness.

Served over brown rice it was super easy and pretty healthful not to mention Dahlish with the hints of almond and coconut. It wasn't overbearing which was good, but there are other flavors that might be fun to play with in it next time - ie fresh herbs or even sriracha or jalapenos.

Hope this inspires you to jazz up your next stir fry - happy Friday!