Here the chicken is cooked in a wok or frying pan, but feel free to fire up the barbecue for this one. The only real trick with this simple recipe is to know that the spice paste on the chicken is pretty dry, so you need to watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn. The raw ingredients in the spice paste need some cooking, so be patient, take your time, then reward yourself with a palate-pleasing pilsener.
Ingredients
- 6 skinless chicken thigh fillets
- 2 fl oz ¼ cup (60 ml ) vegetable oil
- coriander (cilantro) sprigs, lime wedges and steamed jasmine rice to serve
Lemongrass Spice Paste
- 6 garlic cloves chopped
- 2 red Asian shallots sliced
- 1 lemongrass stem white part chopped
- 2 tablespoons mild curry powder
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
How to Make It
- You can trim the fat off the chicken thighs, if need be although I prefer to leave the fat on them as it gives a juicier result when cooking with intense heat, as we will be here. Place the chicken in a bowl.
- Put the spice paste ingredients in a food processor and blitz to a coarse paste. Use your hands to rub the spice paste all over the chicken thighs. Cover and refrigerate for 3–6 hours, or even overnight.
- Heat a large wok or frying pan over high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat well. Lay the chicken pieces in the hot pan and scrape any paste left in the bowl over the chicken. Turn the heat down a little towards medium. Cook the chicken for 7–8 minutes, then turn and cook for a further 5–6 minutes the chicken should have a rough, curry-coloured crust. Remove from the wok and allow to cool a little.
- Slice the chicken into strips about 2 cm (¾ inch) thick. Scatter with coriander and serve with lime wedges and steamed jasmine rice.
