Thai Chicken Pizza With Amazing Peanut Sauce

Gosh, I love pizza.  I make it all the time, and often experiment with new recipes, but over the last month or two, every new pizza combination I have tried has been lousy. I tried things that I thought would taste great, and they didn't, and things that I didn't think would be exciting and they weren't.  Overall, my pizza making has been very sad. 

After all these frustrating experiments, I decided to make a Thai Chicken Pizza.  I have tried 2 or 3 different Thai pizza recipes over the years and they were all disappointing.  Most of them were missing the pop of flavor that I was looking for, or they were super dry. I had almost given up hope of being able to make a good one.

 I didn't have high hopes for this one, but it knocked my socks off with its incredible flavor and great toppings!  The toppings are pretty normal for this type of pizza, but the sauce is really what takes this pizza over the top.  It is spectacularly good, and this recipe is definitely worth pinning right now.  If you don't make it tonight, you should make it tomorrow.  It is that good.  I think we will probably make this once a month for the next 50 years or so, and I will look forward to it every. single. time. 

Thai Chicken Pizza with Amazing Peanut Sauce
Makes 1 medium sized pizza (feeds 3-4)

Pizza:  

2 chicken thighs, thinly sliced
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp white sugar
1 white crust (I make this recipe, use half the dough, and freeze the other half for later)
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 small carrot, halved and thinly sliced
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, finely shredded
2 Tbs cilantro leaves
1/8 cup of peanut sauce (see recipe below)

First prepare your chicken thighs, by placing them in a small, foil-lined pan. Space them out evenly, so that no pieces are touching.  Mix your pepper, salt garlic and sugar in a small bowl, and evenly sprinkle them over the thighs.  Set your oven to a low broil, and cook for about 8 minutes on one side.  If there is any raw pink showing, cook for another minute or two, then flip the strips over, and let cook on the other side for another 2-3 minutes.

On a silpat mat or parchment paper, sprinkle cornmeal in a thin layer across the surface.  Roll your crust out on the mat, the final crust should be about just over 1/4 of an inch.

Top with sauce (see recipe below), then cover with shredded cheese.  Top the cheese with red pepper and carrot slices, and dot the top with cilantro leaves.

Bake on a hot pizza stone in an oven preheated to 425°F for 10-12 minutes.  Check after 10 minutes, and remove once the crust is starting to turn golden brown.  Let cool for 3-5 minutes, then enjoy!

Peanut Sauce:
adapted slightly from Gimme Some Oven
Makes enough to spread on the pizza and some left over for dipping the pizza in.

2 Tbs smooth natural peanut butter
1/4 can coconut milk
2 tsp soy sauce
3 Tbs yellow curry paste (I like this curry paste)
1 tsp vinegar
2 tsp water
heavy sprinkle of garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat for about 3 minutes.  Stir constantly until it comes to a simmer, then remove from heat.