At Home: Crock-Pot Thai Coconut Chicken & Shrimp

Cooking chicken in the slow-cooker is pretty predictable, I admit, but thanks to a fragrant spice blend and a good dose of aromatics inspired by the Thai flavors of Tom Kha Gai, this dish sings with flavor. Literally meaning "chicken galangal soup," Tom Kha Gai is a spicy hot soup made with coconut milk, galangal (a cousin to ginger root), lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, and chicken, and often contains some type of mushroom. Here, I put my twist on it to make Crock-Pot Thai Coconut Chicken & Shrimp for this next installment of What Micky Eats...At Home.

Crock-Pot Thai Coconut Chicken & Shrimp

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin 1-inch pieces
• 10 jumbo shrimp, frozen
• 2 cans coconut milk, shaken
• 2 teasp Sriracha
• 1 teasp ground coriander
• 2 inch cube of ginger (about 30 grams), roughly chopped
• 2 stalks fresh lemongrass, inner bulb-only, cut in 1-in. pieces
• 1 can of baby corn cobs, optional
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced 
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp lime juice, plus more for serving

- Add chicken to crock-pot with ginger, lemongrass, Sriracha and coriander.
- Pour the coconut milk over the chicken; it should just barely cover the chicken.
- (Optional: Drain the corn cobs and chop in half. Add to the crock-pot.)
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Add shrimp, mushrooms and fish sauce.  Stir well.
- Cook for another 30 minutes or until you deem the chicken and shrimp cooked and the vegetables hot.
- Squeeze fresh lime juice over just before serving with jasmine or brown rice. Enjoy!

Keith loves baby corn, so I added a can to the mix, but feel free to leave them out or substitute with your favorite frozen veggies like snap peas.  As you may see from my pictures above, I added the shrimp in the beginning with the chicken, which caused them to be overcooked and borderline mushy. Thus, I amended the steps to add the shrimp at the end with the mushrooms.  They should cook up fast in the hot coconut broth.  The spice level is pretty mild, but feel free to add more Sriracha, red pepper flakes, or red pepper paste.  Also, if you do not have fish sauce, you can substitute with soy sauce to add that extra saltiness. Overall, this Thai-inspired dish came out great and really hit the spot.  The combination of coconut, lemongrass, ginger, and lime really permeates the meat and makes the house smell great while it is slow-cooking away.