Can we just start this off by talking about the title for one second?
This recipe contains two things I love so very, very much: Sriracha sauce and grits.
Pretty recently, I haphazardly went to the grocery store and picked up a bag of grits. Does anyone know how many meals you can make out of one bag of grits?! You could probably feed Denver’s homeless population on a bag or two per day. Long story short, it’s a lot! The next time I had made a trip to the store, I wasn’t doing so well on carrying an organized grocery list with me that day and I couldn’t remember if I had grits at home, so I got another bag just in case.
And then there were TWO bags of grits.
I have so many meals to make that don’t even know it yet. And I haven’t even gotten into the second bag, probably not surprising to you. But I knew something must be done, and I needed to move beyond my usual cheese and sun dried tomato and whatever-I-find-in-the-fridge grits to something more well rounded.
So I found THIS masterpiece from Meg at With Salt and Wit and knew it must be made immediately! You had me at “Sriracha grits”. I died and went to heaven that day.
My brother-in-law loved it too, and why not because there is seriously NOTHING not to love about this. The flavors of the soy and Sriracha sauces, the subtle sweetness from the sweet potato, the complex taste of the goat cheese, and the spice of the roasted poblano just form a divinely winning combination! I kept it easy by using my standing Kitchenaid mixer to mash the sweet potato and mix everything all together while I cleaned behind myself. Just throw it in and forget it for a few minutes!
I used this perfect little 4 ounce log of goat cheese in the fancy cheese section of the grocery store, but any type you prefer should work!
I also like to “cheat” and use cilantro paste in a tube to keep it easy. This stuff rocks my world because I’m not sure what can drain my attention much worse than pulling cilantro off the stems leaf by leaf by leaf and washing/chopping them all up. Trust me when I say that it’s a huge pain in the tuckus.
I know a lot of my readers are not from the south, and let’s be honest, grits and the south just go together. But I think everyone should try this if you like spicy food.
And speaking of spicy, if any of you are trying to get in on a love affair like mine with Sriracha, they now offer the Sriracha Box, a monthly subscription-based delivery service of Sriracha products!
Holy hell!
I just fainted again.
Woke up on the cusp of a fog where I was riding a dragon through Sriracha-drizzled dreams and was drooling on myself…
Carry on, there’s nothing to see here.
Just try this and you won’t be sorry!
Spicy Sriracha Chicken over Roasted Poblano Grits
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 lbs Chicken breasts chopped into 1" pieces
- 3 Tbsp. Butter softened
- 3 Tbsp. Sriracha sauce
- 3 Tbsp. Soy sauce
- 2 cups Milk (can use milk of choice - whole, skim, almond, etc.)
- 1 cup Water
- 1 cup Quick-cooking grits or polenta
- 1/4 cup Goat cheese
- 1 Poblano pepper
- 1 Sweet potato peeled and cubed
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
- Cilantro to garnish
- Green onions chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Turn broiler on high. Broil poblano pepper either on baking sheet or directly on oven rack for 4-5 minutes or until skin is charred. Turn the pepper a quarter of the way and char again. Repeat until all sides are charred then remove from oven and set aside to cool. Once pepper is cool enough to handle, remove charred skin and chop. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, boil the sweet potato for 8-10 minutes or until pieces are soft when poked with a fork. Mash to preferred consistency. Add to large bowl (or standing mixer bowl) and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine butter, Sriracha and soy sauce, and mix well.
- Heat a large skillet over med-high heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add chicken. Cook for 4-5 minutes on one side until seared. Toss chicken and add butter mixture. Stir well to ensure even coating. Cook for 5 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- Add milk and water to a 2qt. pot and bring to a boil. Add grits/polenta and stir well. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until grits/polenta are done, stirring occasionally.
- When grits/polenta are done, add goat cheese, chopped poblano and mashed sweet potato (or add to standing mixer and mix on low-med. speed for a few minutes.) Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- To serve, scoop grits onto a plate and top with chicken mixture, garnishing with cilantro and chopped green onions. The meal can also be served mixed together casserole-style for easy servings.
Enjoy, friends!
