Leftover Chicken Grain Bowl with Peanut Sauce

Leftover Canadian Raised chicken NEVER goes to waste in our house! It’s perfect for lunches or to repurpose for a weeknight meal! This tasty grain bowl with peanut sauce, transforms “fridge-finds” into a satisfying (and pretty) dinner!

Ingredients For 2 bowls

• 2-3 leftover cooked chicken thighs – skin on
• ½ cup uncooked quinoa – cooked to package instructions (or grain of your choice)
• Selection of fresh or cooked vegetables, herbs and nuts (use what you have available) – I used spicy cabbage slaw, carrots, green onions, jalapeños, cherry tomatoes, edamame, avocado, cilantro and cashews.
• Hard boiled eggs – halved
• ½ cup + 2 tbsp Peanut sauce
• ½ tbsp olive oil

Preparation

Remove the chicken skin and set aside.

Diced the chicken thighs into bit size pieces.

Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and heat for 30 seconds. You don’t want the pan to get too hot or you run the risk of burning the skin before it gets crisp.

Toss in the chicken skin in a single layer—you should hear a sizzle when the pieces hit the oil. Pan-fry each piece for about 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Use tongs to transfer the crisp chicken skin pieces to a paper towel–lined plate and let them cool briefly. Like bacon, they will crisp even further as they cool. Once cool, break or chop into small pieces.

Add the diced thighs to the hot pan and coat with oil/ fat in the pan, add 2 tbsp peanut sauce, stir to blend in and cook until chicken is warmed through, 1-2 minutes.

Assemble bowl with quinoa, vegetables, cilantro, cashews & eggs around the sides. Add chicken to the middle, sprinkle with crispy skin and serve ¼ cup of peanut sauce with each bowl.

Pour sauce over bowl, toss to combine an enjoy!

Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

• ½ cup peanut butter
• ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil 
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2-3 tablespoons sambal oelek (add to spice preference)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• small piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• 1 clove of fresh garlic, peeled
• ¼ cup of water

Preparation

Blend all the sauce ingredients together in a small blender or food processor until smooth and creamy.

Prep Time: 5 mins

Makes: 1 ½ cups (6 x ¼ cup servings)

This Chicken Grain Bowl recipe was made with the thighs from my Sheet Pan Lemon Honey Chicken with Rosemary & Tarragon recipe that was developed in partnership with Chicken Farmers of Canada. Opinions in this post are my own.