Copycat Cheesecake Factory Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp

Pin It Whenever I go to The Cheesecake Factory I ALWAYS get bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp.  It is a Thai inspired dish with flavors of coconut, curry, peanuts and chiles.  It has veggies and rice covered in this amazing curry sauce.  You also get a massive portion so I have leftovers for at least 2 lunches.  I made this for my friends on "wine and dine" night and I have to say that this is pretty darn close to the real thing.  This recipe is a bit more complicated than my normal cooking, but it is definitely worth it!

Check out Weekend Potluck to see lots of awesome recipes!

Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp
Adapted from Firehow.com
Curry Sauce:
olive oil
1 small white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
2 Tbsp red curry paste (to taste)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
3 cups lite coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup zucchini, julienned
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup caulifour, chopped into small florets
2 chicken breasts
1 lb shrimp, peeled
green onions
toasted coconut
chopped peanuts

1. Drizzle olive oil in a large skillet.  Add onion, garlic and ginger.  Saute until starting to brown.
2. Add chicken broth, cumin, paprika, curry, red pepper, salt and pepper.  Stir well.  Simmer for 5 mintues.
3. Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for 20 minutes until sauce begins to thicken.
4. Meanwhile, cook chicken and shrimp in a separate skillet.  Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Set aside when done.
**Make peanut sauce.  Directions below.
5. When sauce is starting to thicken add veggies.  Simmer for 10 minutes or until carrots are tender.
6. Add chicken and shrimp to sauce a few minutes before serving.
7.  Serve over rice.  Drizzle with peanut sauce and top with chopped green onions,toasted coconut and chopped peanuts.

Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp water
4 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp lime juice

1. In a small sauce pan combine all ingredients.  Whisk to combine.  Heat until mixture begins to bubble.
2. Cover pan and remove from heat until ready to serve.
3. Drizzle on top of meal before serving.

Copycat Parrot Bay Coconut Shrimp with Pina Colada Sauce

Pin It I love Red Lobster.  I always get the coconut shrimp.  When someone says Red Lobster I automatically think of their coconut shrimp.  I never branch out and try something new because I love their shrimp so much.  Well it gets expensive to eat out all the time, not to mention that it's not completely healthy for you either so I decided to make a copycat version.  It is pretty darn close and a lot healthier too because it isn't fried.  Try it with Toasted Coconut Lime Rice and Cheddar Bay Biscuits and it will be almost as good as going out to eat :)

Copycat Parrot Bay Coconut Shrimp with Pina Colada Sauce

Shrimp
1 lb cooked, peeled shrimp, with tails on (I used medium, but large would be better)
3 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup pina colada mix (non-alcoholic, from bottle)
3 tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Place cornstarch in a shallow dish or plate.  Mix pina colada mix and powdered sugar in a small bowl and place next to cornstarch.
3. Mix coconut and breadcrumbs in a small bowl and place next to pina colada mixture.
4. Dredge shrimp in cornstarch, dip in pina colada mixture, then dip in coconut mixture, pressing coconut onto shrimp. 
5. Place shrimp on a foil lined, cooking spray coated baking sheet.
6. Spray tops of shrimp with cooking spray to aid in browning.
7. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Depending on your oven ou might have to rotate the shrimp if some seem to be browning much quicker than others. 
8. Serve with pina colada sauce.



Pina Colada Sauce
1 cup pina colada mix
1/4 cup pineapple tidbits, chopped into very small pieces, or crushed pineapple
3 Tbsp powdered sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp water

1. In a small saucepan add pina colada mix, powdered sugar and pineapple.  Stir until there are no more lumps of powdered sugar.  Bring to a boil.
2. Mix cornstarch and water, slowly pour into sauce, stirring quickly.  Allow to boil for about 1 minute then remove from heat.
3. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving. 

**Note this sauce is best at room temp.  If it is too cold it is too thick to dip with.

Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls with Cinnamon Honey Butter

Pin It

I rate restaurants based on their bread.  Texas Roadhouse has one of my favorites mostly because of the awesome cinnamon butter that comes with their piping hot rolls.  I stumbled upon a recipe on Pinterest and modified it a bit to make the correct amount for us.  This was also my first attempt at making yeast rolls and they turned out perfect.  This is definitely a good beginner roll recipe.

Texas Roadhouse Rolls

*makes 10 rolls

1 1/2 cups four, divided

1/2 tsp salt

1 T sugar

1 packet (1/4 oz.) yeast

1 egg white

1/3 c warm water

1/3 cup warm milk

2 T melted butter

1. Mix 1 cup flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowl.
2. Combine egg white, water and milk.
3. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour the milk mixture into the well.  Mix by hand until well combined, paying special attention to the bottom and sides of the bowl.
4. Stir in melted butter.
5. Slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour.
6. Cover bowl with saran wrap and let dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes or until double in size.
7. Punch down dough using cooking spray coated spoons (the dough is super sticky).
8. Spray 10 muffin cups with cooking spray.  Divide dough evenly between cups.
9. Cover dough with a damp papertowel and allow dough to rise again for 30 minutes or until double in size.
10. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
11. Bake rolls for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with cinnamon honey butter.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

*enough for 1 batch of rolls - easy to double/triple
1 stick butter, softened
2 T honey
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Combine all ingredients, stirring until smooth and well mixed.