Still, I could use some help. I’m no seasoned slow-cooker chef, and can count my fails up there with my winning dishes. That is one reason why I was happy to have Kelsey contact me to participate in her week-long Slow-Cooker Challenge.
January is the perfect month to give that slow-cooker a permanent place on the counter top and our challenge is sure to fuel you with plenty of inspiration. Don’t own a crock pot yet? Both The Naptime Chef and my friends at Big Girls, Small Kitchen are giving one away this week! So hurry over and enter.
Chicken and vegetables in the slow-cooker is pretty predictable, I admit, but thanks to a fragrant spice blend and a good dose of aromatics such as ginger root and garlic, this dish sings with flavor. It’s mellowed out with rich coconut milk and served over steamed rice; comfort food at its finest.
A few notes on the recipe
You can certainly use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in place of the thighs, but I prefer the dark meat and find it to have more flavor than the breast. It’s more affordable, too!
In the recipe I call for peas, but you can use any cooked or frozen vegetables you have on hand. In the version photographed above I tossed in a bag of my homemade stir fry packages of vegetables, which worked perfectly with the dish.
My slow cooker bowl can be used on a burner which can then be transferred to its electric base to cook further, but if you have a different type, then simply prepare the first few steps of this recipe in a heavy bottomed pot or skillet and transfer the ingredients to the slow cooker when the liquids are added.
| Slow Cooker Coconut Ginger Chicken & Vegetables |
|
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 inch cube of ginger (about 30 grams), roughly chopped
- 1 small sweet onion, peeled, quartered
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into four
- 2 cans coconut milk, not shaken
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 can of baby corn cobs
- 1 cup peas or frozen vegetables of your choice
- For the spice blend
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground tumeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Combine ingredients from the spice blend together and set aside.
- In a mini food processor, combine garlic, ginger and onion and pulse until it forms a paste.
- In the bottom of a slow-cooker placed on a burner, heat olive oil and melt butter. Add pureed aromatics and stir well. Cook for a few minutes, then add spice blend. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Move aromatics to one side of the pot and add chicken pieces to the pot. Cook chicken slightly on all sides, using a sturdy wooden spoon to move it around the pot. It should get thoroughly coated with the spice mixture.
- Open the cans of coconut milk and remove the cream from the top using a soup spoon. You should have about 1 cup. Pour the coconut milk over the chicken and with both cans, it should just barely cover the chicken.
- Drain the corn cobs and chop in half. Add to the slow-cooker.
- Place the slow cooker in the base and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Whisk cornstarch with coconut cream until smooth and add to the chicken. Stir well. Add frozen peas or other vegetables of your choice. Cook for another half an hour or until you deem the chicken cooked and the vegetables hot.
What is your go-to slow-cooker favorite? Feel free to leave a link to a recipe in the comments.
 on http://www.simplebites.net){kind=link}
{ 80 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Some S/WAHM friends and I started a cooking club and we use our slow cookers nearly every day. It’s wonderful! This recipe is on my list for next month’s meals.
Ashley’s last post: Book Review: His Steadfast Love by Golden Keyes Parsons
I substituted shrimp for the chicken with great results. I made the broth part of the recipe and let it simmer with some vegetables (red bell pepper, carrot) for four hours, and then I added raw shrimp, chopped spinach, and frozen peas about one half hour before serving the dish. A splash of lime juice is good at the end of cooking. We ate it over rice with some chopped cilantro for garnish. Yum-O! Thanks for the recipe!
I just made this and it is amazing!
I don’t have a slow cooker so cooked it on the stove, following your directions until the mixture is transferred to the cooker — instead simmered it on low until the chicken and veggies were cooked through.
Changes I made (due to allergies and intolerances):
- Extra clove of garlic and about half an inch extra ginger instead of the onion
- Brown rice flour instead of the cornstarch
YUM! Definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Could you just throw everything in the crockpot on the morning and cook on low all day? I am a vegetarian so I would substitute Edamame for Chicken anyways. This sounds delicious!
I made this last week (in my French oven because the timing in my slow-cooker doesn’t work for a ‘working outside the home’ cook). I put it in the oven at 325deg. for an hour and I used fresh broccoli, carrots & snow peas added during the last 15 minutes. It was DELICIOUS! Everyone in the family really liked it and that almost never happens with this kind of dish. Thanks!
I made this last night, and my family and I loved it! I ended up cooking mine on high for 3 hours, then adding the veggies for another hour on high and it turned out perfect. I may double up on some of the spices next time or maybe add some hot sauce for a little more of a kick. Great recipe indeed! Thank you!
Okay–I’m supper confused about the instructions about the coconut milk. When my coconut milk separates there is super-thick creamy part on the bottom of the can, and a liquidy part on the top. Is it the liquidy part that goes in the crock pot initially?
If so, the super-thick cream is so thick, it seems like it’s going to be really hard to whisk in the corn starch. ???
Thanks!
Bethany’s last post: Creamy, Satisfying, Dairy-Free Clam Chowder
I made this tonight and it was pretty bland. I couldn’t taste the spices at all… and they were fresh. Perhaps my cans of coconut milk were too large (14.5 oz cans)? Or maybe I should double up on the spice blend and ginger? My sauce didn’t have the same color as the photo either. Need to try again.
← Previous Comments