Thai It, You'll Like It Shrimp or Chicken (Rachael Ray's Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth, divided (I used water with chicken bouillon)
  
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used chicken, since I don't like shrimp)
  
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 fresh red chili, seeded and thinly sliced or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1-1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce or 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 cups basil, torn (a couple of handfuls) (I used dried basil and just added about 2 tsp)
  
• Zest and juice of 1 lime (I used lemon juice, a 1-2 cap fulls)
  

Preparation

Toast the coconut in a saucepan over medium heat until it turns golden brown. Reserve 1/2 cup of the toasted coconut for garnish. To the remaining coconut, add the chicken stock, rice and salt, then bring to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, place a lid on top and cook for 15 minutes. Let the mixture stand for five minutes off the heat, then fluff with a fork.

While the rice is cooking, pre-heat a large, nonstick skillet over high heat with the canola oil. When the pan is hot, add the shrimp, red bell peppers and chili or red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 3-4 minutes.

Add the fish sauce or soy sauce and basil and toss to combine. Serve the shrimp and some of the sauce over the coconut rice and squeeze some lime juice over everything. Garnish with the reserved toasted coconut and the lime zest.