Coconut Curry Chicken #MadeWithChobani

Last week, I noticed a hashtag floating around my Pinterest and Twitter worlds -- #MadeWithChobani. After taking a look through the Chobani tumblr and some other blogger websites featuring their Chobani-made recipes, I was totally inspired to hop on board and come up with my own! Perusing the Chobani website, I spotted the coconut-flavored blend. Since I've found great flavor success with coconut milk, shouldn't coconut-flavored yogurt be as big a win?

Oh yes, friends and readers. This is a HUGE flavor win.

I was loosely inspired by Queen Ina Garten's lamb kebab marinade. Yogurt as a marinade for meat makes it extra juicy and tender, plus a few other aromatics and tasty spices give you a knock out flavor profile.

I went with chicken thighs for a few reasons. First, they're really tender and flavorful - there is nothing worse than a grainy, dried out chicken breast. Second, they were super cheap the day I went shopping for this meal. I found 6 skinless, bone-in thighs (total weight 1.4 lb) for about $5. I made a Chobani-based marinade of the following:

6 bone-in skinless thighs (1.4 lb by weight)
Juice of one lime
1 T ginger, minced (about one inch of a knob)
1 container (150 g) 2% coconut Chobani
1 T parsley, minced (optional)
4 scallions, white and light green parts thinly sliced (shallots or chives would also work)
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 T canola oil

I mixed all of the marinade ingredients in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and, after rinsing the chicken and taking off any excess fat, added those to the mix as well. I prepped these in advance by a full 24 hours -- if you don't have that much time, I'd recommend you marinate for at least an hour.

I baked my chicken at 375° for about 25 minutes until cooked through. I checked around the 20-minute mark, but trusted my digital meat thermometer - once it registered 160° or so, they came out of the oven. I laud this tool on this blog regularly and totally recommend adding one to your kitchen toolkit!

I served the chicken with a broccoli radish slaw, also prepared with Chobani. The recipe is as follows:

One head broccoli
One bunch radishes (about 8 total)
2 T lemon juice
2 T canola oil
1 T red wine vinegar
1 container (150 g) 0% plain Chobani
1/8 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Use the shredding disc of a food processor (or a box grater if you want an arm workout) to shred all broccoli and radishes. Mix the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine (I like to shake in a covered bowl, which is also a great arm workout) and season to taste with salt and pepper, then refrigerate until ready.

This chicken is positively dynamite. It was soooooOOOOOooooooooOOOOOOOOO good. I know that isn't an accurate description, but from someone who does not consider coconut a go-to flavor, this meal blew my own expectations out of the water and will definitely go into our regular rotation. The marinade has the brightness of the ginger and the lime juice, a sweetness from the coconut yogurt, and the perfect amount of smoky heat from the curry powder. It had the flavors of some of my favorite Indian or Thai dishes that use coconut milk as the base, but using the yogurt is a way to up the ante protein-wise.

My tummy (and my husband's!) are so glad that I jumped on board with this challenge!

For those who might like alternatives to the above:

• Chicken breasts/tenderloins instead of thighs will totally work. I'd suggest you cut them into 1" pieces so the marinade has more surface area to flavor. This marinade would also be delicious on shrimp!
• Parsley is totally optional. You can leave it out entirely or replace with your favorite fresh green herb like cilantro or mint. If you don't have any fresh herbs on hand, you could certainly sub in your favorite dried herbs as well.
• Curry scares some people. In large doses, it can be too much, but in small doses it is really a lovely flavor addition. If you're anti-curry, try chili powder or paprika. If you're pro-spiciness, definitely try upping the amount of curry powder, or add in cayenne.
• The slaw can be done with any sturdy vegetables that shred easily. Carrots would be great, and I am a huge fan of Brussels sprouts as slaw.

Disclaimer: I purchased all Chobani products with my own money. The recipe is my own creation. I didn't receive any incentive to write a Chobani-focused article other than I like a good challenge and yogurt is tasty!