Tag: chicken

Pad thai chicken

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So quick, so noodlycrunchyfreshtangysweetsavoury, so so tasty! Feeds 2

  • 250g wide rice noodles
  • 50ml tamarind paste
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 spring onions, sliced lengthways and cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 1 chicken breast, sliced into very thin pieces
  • 1 carrot, cut into 2 inch lengths and julienned
  • 100g crispy tofu pieces
  • Handful of beansprouts
  • Large handful roasted unsalted peanuts, crushed into coarse meal/small pieces
  • Fresh coriander, chopped
  • Couple of lime wedges

Word to the wise – do ALL your prep beforehand because this one moves fast once you start!

  1. Cook the noodles for 2 mins less than the packet says and then drain, rinse in cold water and leave them submerged in cold water until you need them (or soak them in cold water for an hour – I am never this organised)
  2. Combine the tamarind, water, fish sauce, sugar and lime juice
  3. Heat 1 tbsp veg oil in a wok, swirl it round and add the egg. Cook without breaking up for a couple of mins, then flip it for a moment and tip it out of the wok. Cut it into small pieces
  4. Re-heat the wok scorching hot, add the other 1 tbsp oil. Add the garlic and spring onions, stir together briefly
  5. Add the chicken and stir cook for 1 min. Then add the tofu pieces and julienned carrot, stir cooking for 2 mins more
  6. Turn the heat down to medium, add the drained noodles and stir in, then pour in the tamarind sauce
  7. Continue to cook and stir until the noodles are soft and the sauce has mostly been absorbed
  8. Stir through the bean sprouts and half the crushed peanuts
  9. Serve immediately in 2 big bowls, topped with fresh coriander, the rest of the crushed peanuts and a lime wedge on the side. Tuck. In.

Satay chicken

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It’s the chicken that matches this sauce! Also just eat it on its own because it’s ridiculously delicious.

  • 1.5kg chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
  • 3 tbsp veg oil
  • 3 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 tsp turmeric
  • 1½ tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp light brown sugar
  1. Whizz together the marinade ingredients (everything but the chicken)
  2. Pour the marinade over the chicken pieces, mix well and leave in the fridge for at least 6 hours
  3. Thread onto bamboo skewers and grill on high until cooked through and just starting to catch around the edges
  4. Serve with delicious nutty satay sauce, sticky rice and a pineapple and cucumber salad

One pot Hainanese chicken rice

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Manages to be the most delicately delicious and comforting meal, whilst also being a super-simple weeknight dinner. Not authentic, but well worth eating anyway. Feeds 4

  • 350g basmati rice, washed
  • 600ml boiling water mixed with 1 chicken stock cube, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 0.5 tbsp turmeric, 1 tbsp sesame oil and a pinch white pepper
  • 4 spring onions, trimmed and lightly squished
  • 6 slices ginger
  • 4 garlic cloves, squished with the side of your knife
  • 2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and squished with the side of your knife
  • 8 small chicken thighs
  1. Put a large saucepan or deep frying pan with a lid over a high heat
  2. Brown the chicken thighs in a little oil briefly over high heat. Then remove from the pann
  3. Add the rice, stock, spring onions, ginger, garlic and lemongrass
  4. Stir together, bring to the boil and place the chicken thighs on top
  5. Pop the lid on and turn down to a simmer
  6. Cook for 20 mins, then leave off the heat with the lid on to steam for a further 10 mins
  7. Remove all the bits from the rice and slice the chicken
  8. Serve the rice and sliced chicken with some sliced cucumber and dipping sauces – this could include chilli vinegar sauce, a sweetened soy sauce (like kecap manis) and a dip made of finely minced coriander, spring onion and ginger with a couple of tbsp hot oil poured over

Chicken tikka pizza

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With apologies to both India and Italy, this is their unapologetically delicious lovechild.

If you have leftover chicken tikka in the fridge and you don’t feel like making a salad, I’ve got you covered… it’s the very definition of a low effort/high flavour weeknight dinner. Makes 4 individual pizzas

The pizza sauce … Although of course you don’t have to make sauce from scratch, it is super-simple and tasty – and I’m more likely to have the ingredients lying around than I am to have a ready-made sauce. And this is a modified butter chicken sauce, so it tastes brilliant. And can be made in advance to save time on for dinner.

  • 3 tbsp veg oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • Thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • ½ onion, roughly chopped
  • 300 g tomato passata
  • ½ tsp ground fenugreek
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp kashmiri chilli powder
  • ½ tsp honey
  • Salt and pepper
  1. In a little whizzer, blend the onion, garlic and ginger
  2. Heat the veg oil in a saucepan and add the onion mix
  3. Cook for 5 mins or so until soft
  4. Add all the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir together
  5. Bring to a bubble and then cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about an hour
  6. It should be thick, dark red and reduced – more a paste than a sauce

And then it’s just a construction job!

  • 2-4 ready-made pizza bases (depending on size)
  • Pieces of chicken tikka, cut into bite-size morsels
  • ½ red onion, sliced into thin half moons
  • 1 large green chilli, deseeded and sliced into thin rings
  • ½ red pepper, cut into thin slices
  • 400g grated mozzarella
  • Fresh coriander, chopped
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C fan (220C)
  2. Smear the sauce liberally over the pizza bases
  3. Divide the toppings evenly between them
  4. Sprinkle over the mozzarella
  5. Bake for 12-13 mins until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the crust is brown
  6. Pull out of the oven, sprinkle with fresh coriander and cut into slices
  7. Serve straight away, with a small bowl of plain yoghurt topped with a swirl of mango chutney for dipping the crusts in

Chicken koftas

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Succulent, fragrant and super-simple to prepare. And excellent weeknight dinner, served with a simple salad, flatbread and tzatziki. Feeds 2-4 depending on how hungry they are

  • ½ onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • ½ green pepper, roughly chopped
  • Handful of fresh parsley
  • Small bunch of chives
  • 500 g chicken mince
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Plenty of ground black pepper
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Veg oil
  1. Whizz up the onion, garlic, green pepper and fresh herbs using a mini food processor or hand blender
  2. Scrape into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients except for the oil. Mix lightly without over-working
  3. Form the sticky mixture into flattish kofta shapes
  4. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry on both sides for 10 mins or so until browned on the outside and cooked through. Alternatively, use the air fryer and air fry on 200C for 15 mins

Vietnamese chicken noodle salad

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It’s bun ga nuong! Fresh, crunchy, tangy, spicy and delicious

  • 6 chicken thigh fillets
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 200g vermicelli rice noodles
  • 1 baby gem lettuce, chopped
  • ⅓ cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
  • ½ carrot, grated/julienned
  • 8 radishes, sliced
  • Bean sprouts
  • Fresh mint leaves
  • Fresh coriander leaves
  • Nuoc cham dipping sauce
  1. In a medium bowl, mix together the garlic, lime, fish sauce, soy sauce and brown sugar
  2. Put in the chicken thighs, stir to coat in the marinade, cover and leave for an hour
  3. Cook rice vermicelli noodles according to the package instructions
  4. Drain and rinse under cold running water and then leave in cold water until ready to use
  5. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium high heat
  6. Drain the marinade off the chicken and fry for about 4 mins per side or until cooked through.
  7. To assemble the salad, drain the rice noodles and place on a plate. Top with the salad vegetables, herbs and sliced chicken. Drizzle with nuoc cham sauce and serve

Child-friendly chicken

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Although this is of course delicious for everyone, it’s a dish that gets a lot of requests from kid visitors. It’s super-simple, savoury and scrumptious over rice, atop pasta or wrapped in wraps. All bases covered! And no-one will complain because it’s ‘too spicy’…

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 tsp butter
  • 1 tsp garlic oil
  • 1 small onion, diced as fine as possible (very very tiny pieces so fusspots can’t see them)
  • ½ chicken stock cube
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 tsp tomato puree
  • 300ml boiling water
  1. Heat the butter and garlic oil in a lidded frying pan over a medium-high heat
  2. Brown the chicken thigh fillets and then remove them from the pan
  3. Turn the heat down and add the diced onion
  4. Cook the onion over a low heat until soft, then crumble in the chicken stock cube, adding paprika, salt and tomato puree
  5. Stir in and cook for a minute then pop the chicken back in and add enough boiling water so the meat is half submerged
  6. Bring the liquid to the boil, then simmer on low with the lid on for 30 mins
  7. Then stir, remove the lid and simmer for another 20-30 mins
  8. By this time, the sauce should be almost gone and the chicken should be soft enough that you can pull it apart with forks
  9. And then you pull it apart with forks. And that’s it

Chicken taquitos

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Crunchy tortilla outsides, gooey spicy insides. So good. Pile salsa and guac on top and get your munch on. Makes 6.

  • About 1 chicken breast-worth of cooked, shredded chicken
  • 100g grated cheddar
  • 2 tbsp cream cheese
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • Pinch of salt
  • 6 corn/wheat tortillas
  • 1 tsp bacon fat (or veg oil)
  1. Mix together all the ingredients except for the tortillas and the bacon fat or oil
  2. Spoon a sixth of the mixture in a line along the middle of a tortilla
  3. Fold the tortilla around the filling like a spring roll, folding in the ends as you roll the tortilla
  4. Stop them from springing open by securing with a toothpick, or just pressing them gently with the fold-side down
  5. Repeat until all the tortillas and all the filling is used up
  6. Heat the bacon fat in a non-stick pan over a medium heat
  7. Place the taquitos into the pan and fry for a couple of mins on each side until the tortillas are brown and the filling is melted

Coconut curry pot-roast chicken

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The perfect dish for when you have someone to impress and you want delectable, fragrant curry, but you’ve got no time to spend prepping. All the work here is done by the oven, the only ‘cooking’ is frying onions. But the result is seriously impressive and incredibly delicious.

  • 1 tbsp veg oil
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 300g packet curry kit (like those from Spice Tailor). Choose a highly-flavoured, spicy one for maximum effect
  • 1 tin coconut milk
  • 200ml chicken stock
  • 1.3kg whole chicken
  • Salt
  • Fresh coriander
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C fan (220C)
  2. Heat the veg oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and cook the onions until soft
  3. Add the spices from the curry kit and stir in, then add the base spice paste
  4. Cook for another minute before adding the curry sauce, coconut milk and stock. Stir together, heat to a bubble and then remove from the heat
  5. Place the chicken into a deep oven dish, pour all the sauce into the dish around the chicken (rather than over the top)
  6. Sprinkle salt over the chicken skin
  7. Cook in the hot oven for 15 mins then turn it down to 170C fan (190C) and cook for a further 1 hour. Baste every 15 mins with the sauce from the pan
  8. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 mins
  9. Scatter with fresh coriander leaves
  10. Carve the chicken, serving over rice with the curry sauce on top. Maybe some garlic greens on the side

Chicken casserole and herby dumplings

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The most savoury, comforting food you can imagine. Brilliant for celebrating friends, mending heartache or just for dinner. Serve with greens and bread for mopping. Feeds 4.

  • 700-800g boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 tbsp salted butter
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 150g pancetta, cubed
  • 1 large leek, washed and chopped
  • 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
  • 3 carrots, halved lengthways and chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 heaped tbsp plain flour
  • 200ml white wine
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 1 heaped tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper
  1. In a large heavy-bottomed pan over a high heat, melt the butter and oil together until they bubble and start to turn golden
  2. Pop the chicken thighs into the hot fat in a single layer and brown on both sides
  3. Remove into a plate (they don’t have to be fully cooked) and turn the heat down
  4. Add the pancetta to the pan and fry until golden brown and catching round the edges
  5. Drop in the prepped leek, celery, carrot and garlic
  6. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 mins until soft
  7. Sprinkle over the flour and stir in well, cooking for 2 mins
  8. Add the wine and stir until it disappears, then add the chicken stock, mustard, lemon juice, thyme and bay
  9. Season well with pepper and salt to taste
  10. Bring the sauce to a bubble until it’s glossy and thickened
  11. Pop the browned chicken back into the pan, pushing the pieces just under the surface
  12. Put the lid on and simmer for 30 mins
  13. While it’s cooking, make the dumplings
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 60g plain yogurt
  • 1 egg
  • 40g butter, melted
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
  • 2 tbsp finely grated parmesan
  • 150g fresh white breadcrumbs
  1. Whisk together all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs
  2. Then stir in the breadcrumbs until just combined
  3. Gemtly roll between your palms into 12 round-ish dumplings
  4. Drop them into the stew and gently press beneath the surface
  5. Cook (without stirring or poking) for 15-20 mins

Serve immediately to those you love (or to those barely tolerate – maybe this casserole will change things for the better, you never know)