By Meal Prep Ideas 
Grilled marinated chicken, fluffy rice, and excessive handfuls of mint and cilantro, finished off with a generous drizzling of big and flavorful creamy coconut lime sauce.
The picture I’m going to paint for you today starts with grilled marinated chicken, fluffy rice, and excessive handfuls of mint and cilantro, and it finishes with a generous drizzling of creamy coconut lime sauce that is so big and so flavorful that you cannot be unchanged by it.
You know I’m not always the biggest fan of chicken but THIS. This sauce-soaked, herb-loaded wonder is exactly the kind of chicken I like.
It’s the time of year when I start to build my meal plans around getting outdoors as much as possible. I know what’s coming (WINTER) and I know how much I will be outside (HARDLY AT ALL) so I’m doing my best to really lean into those summer flavors and the kinds of meals that naturally bring you outside into the sun. And if those meals can put loads of fresh summer herbs to good use, double win.
For that reason this recipe serves two purposes:
- Getting you outside into the sun / fresh air to boost the mood a bit.
- Giving you the foundation for all good things: that zingy, salty, herb-loaded coconut lime sauce.
Coconut milk, lime juice, lime zest, fish sauce, cilantro mint garlic oh my. This. Sauce. Is. So. Good.
It’s worth mentioning that between recipe development, photos, and video, the three people working on this recipe (working out of three separate locations) each ended up with slightly different looking sauces. One thin, one medium, one thick.
The lesson: coconut milk can vary greatly from can to can and brand to brand, and how much lime sauce you add (and whether you measure or just squeeze) can also impact the final coconut lime sauce texture. I’d recommend just starting with what’s written and then adjust as needed.
At the end of the day, chicken and rice never fails, but it EXTRA never fails us when it’s serves as a blank canvas to holds all the flavors of that cool, creamy sauce.
A little char on the chicken, a fresh squeeze of lime, hot sticky rice, and a heavy dousing of puckery coconut lime sauce. It’s creamy and summery, bright and fresh, and deeply filling and satisfying.
Bring it on.
