I had something like this on a visit to Bangkok, chicken with a creamy but spicy lime sauce. At first I thought the rich texture had come from a pan reduction or even a béchamel-like sauce, but I detected the faint taste of coconut and realized it was little more than coconut milk spiked with lime. With canned coconut milk, it can be made in less than a half hour.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1 to 1 1/2 pounds)

　　Minced zest and juice of 2 limes

　　1/2 cup canned or fresh coconut milk (see page 75)

　　Salt and cayenne

　　1 teaspoon nam pla (fish sauce; optional)

　　4 scallions, minced, for garnish

　　1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro for garnish

　　

Step 1

Marinate the chicken in half the lime juice while you start a grill or preheat the broiler; put the rack about 4 inches from the heat source.

　　

Step 2

Warm the coconut milk over low heat; season it with salt (hold off on salt if you use the nam pla) and a pinch of cayenne. Add the lime zest.

　　

Step 3

Put the chicken, smooth (skin) side up, on an ungreased baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and place in the broiler. Add half the remaining lime juice to the coconut milk mixture.

　　

Step 4

When the chicken is nicely browned on top, about 6 minutes later, it is done (make a small cut in the thickest part and peek inside if you want to be sure). Transfer it to a warm platter. Add the nam pla, if you’re using it, to the coconut milk; taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Spoon a little of the sauce over and around the breasts, then garnish with the scallions and cilantro and sprinkle with the remaining lime juice. Serve with white rice, passing the remaining sauce.

　　

Variations

Step 5

Add a teaspoon of curry powder.

　　

Step 6

Add a tablespoon of minced shallot to the coconut milk as it warms.

　　

Step 7

This sauce can also be used with many different foods:

　　

Step 8

Grilled or broiled shrimp or scallops, with the cooking time reduced by a minute or two

　　

Step 9

Boneless pork cutlets, treated like the chicken, with the cooking time increased by a couple of minutes (turn it once during cooking)

　　

Step 10

Almost any white-fleshed fillet of fish, especially firmer ones like grouper, red snapper, or monkfish

　　From Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times by Mark Bittman Copyright (c) 2007 by Mark Bittman Published by Broadway Books.Mark Bittman is the author of the blockbuster Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.