Curry flavors this low-fat chicken steamed in packet

Steaming is a healthful way to cook, but it can also make some foods a little bland. Not this preparation of curried apricot chicken, which adds the low-fat advantage of steaming to a smart series of measures to keep the taste at a high level.

The recipe is from the April issue of Fitness magazine, in a feature that explains how steaming can be super-fast and seriously diet-friendly. If you have a large, deep wok or skillet, a steamer basket and a roll of aluminum foil, you’re good to go.

But one item can make steaming even easier – a bamboo steamer set. Available in kitchen and department stores as well as Asian markets, it usually comes with two stackable slatted rounds that fit together atop a wok or skillet filled with water, plus a cover. The bamboo absorbs most of the condensation, so foods never get soggy.

To serve with this chicken, food writer Victoria Riccardi suggests, quick-cooking brown rice will soak up all the delicious apricot-curry sauce.

Curried apricot chicken packs

1/4cup all-fruit apricot preserves

2tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2teaspoon curry powder

1/4teaspoon cayenne

1/4teaspoon coarse salt

4cups baby spinach leaves

1pound chicken tenders

1/4cup golden raisins

2tablespoons sweetened coconut, lightly toasted

Place a large skillet filled with 2 inches of water over a high heat; cover and bring to a boil.

In a bowl, stir together apricot preserves, vinegar, curry powder, cayenne and salt.

Lay out four 10-by-12-inch pieces of aluminum foil. In the center of each piece, mound 1 cup of spinach; top each with chicken tenders. Spoon on some apricot sauce; sprinkle with golden raisins. Bring up sides of foil to meet over chicken, crimp edges together, and fold over a few times to create a packet. Seal sides.

Place chicken packets in bottom and top sections of a bamboo steamer or other steamer basket. Set steamer in skillet, reduce heat to low, cover and steam 12 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked, switching layers halfway through. When packets are cool enough to handle, open and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Makes 4 servings.