Hawaiian Haystacks {Thai-style}

Hawaiian Haystacks take on a new twist and go Thai! Coconut Rice, fresh cilantro and basil, and a jalapeno pepper for heat, will bring the wonderful flavors of Thai-inspired food to mind.

I first had regular Hawaiian Haystacks at girl’s camp when I was a teenager. Everyone at camp was familiar with them except for me. My mom was pretty straight forward about her cooking, which was delicious by the way, but she stuck with a dozen or so regular meals and did not often venture outside of those meals. I was okay with that because my mom’s cooking was unquestionably wonderful. However, when I went out in public and found that other people did things differently, I felt shy…like with Hawaiian Haystacks night at girl’s camp.

That night was so stressful. I didn’t know what to do – how to put the ingredients together – what would taste good together or whether I was doing things ‘right’. Teen angst over girl’s camp food. Sheesh. (Shaking head, rolling eyes at the memory.) I did get mocked a bit because I was clueless about the haystacks. Apparently everyone except me had them at home on a regular basis. Oy vey.

Luckily, as I worked my way through experimenting with the slow cooker roasted chicken, I found a slightly different take on an old favorite. I decided to put a Thai-style spin on the Hawaiian haystacks. I changed up the gravy, using a jalapeno pepper to bring some heat and pungent fresh cilantro and basil for seasonings. For the rice, I used coconut rice instead of plain white rice. It is very easy to make.

This is my preferred combo: crispy Chinese noodles, coconut rice, chunky chicken gravy, tomatoes, celery, pineapple chunks, green onions, cheese, and sunflower seeds.

Because I was choosing to keep this particular batch of Hawaiian Haystacks with a Thai-based theme, I used jasmine rice cooked with coconut milk. In the words of the great Ina Garten, “how good is that?” If you wanted to increase the coconut milk flavor, coconut milk could be added to the gravy. Oh, sheesh. So good.

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Hawaiian Haystacks {Thai-style}

Hawaiian Haystacks take on a new twist and go Thai! Coconut Rice, fresh cilantro, and a bit of chile pepper for heat will bring the wonderful flavors of Thai-inspired food to mind.  Please note: The gravy portion of this recipe makes 8 servings.

Servings: 8

Author: Terri @ that's some good cookin'

Ingredients

For the Gravy:

• 5 cups chicken broth or stock
• 1 (13.5 ounces) can coconut milk (see Notes for alternative)
• 3 cups cooked chicken
• salt and pepper, to taste
• jalapeno or other hot chile, seeded and chopped
• 4 tablespoons corn starch
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Toppings - use any or all - adjust amounts prepared to # of people being served

• crispy Chinese noodles
• cooked rice, (see Notes)
• grated cheddar cheese
• shredded coconut
• sliced celery
• diced tomatoes
• sliced green onions
• green peas (fresh or defrosted frozen peas)
• pineapple (fresh or canned, tidbits, chunks, or crushed)
• toasted sunflower seeds

Instructions

For the Gravy

• In a large sauce pot, bring the chicken broth and the coconut milk to a low boil. Add the chicken and return to low boil.
• Taste, then correct seasonings with salt and pepper or seasoning salt. Continue at a low boil. (If using a hot chile for spicy heat, add it now. If some guests would prefer it without the heat, the chile could be served as a topping.)
• Mix together the water and corn starch until smooth. Add slowly to hot chicken broth mixture while stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir until gravy has thickened. If you prefer a thicker gravy, allow the gravy to cook at a low boil until reduced to desired thickness. Alternately, a little more cornstarch dissolved in a little water may be used for additional thickening.
• Just prior to serving, stir in the basil and cilantro.
• To assemble haystack: layer the Chinese crispy noodles, cooked rice, and gravy. Add any or all toppings in order of preference.

Notes

Chicken stock: I used juices from Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken plus enough store bought chicken stock to bring it up to five cups.

Alternative for Gravy: I used regular coconut  milk. If you prefer a regular gravy, replace the coconut milk with 1 cup of stock, bringing the total amount of stock up to 6 cups.

Rice: I made Coconut Rice - super easy

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