Chris Starr is Head Chef of The Dunraven Arms in Adare, Co. Limerick. He is part of the West Limerick Food Series which is a group of food & drink producers, restaurants, hotels etc. in the region.
Ingredients
Serves 2
- 1 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 5cm piece fresh root ginger
- 2 red chillies
- 1 lemon grass stalk
- 2 red peppers
- 1 courgette
- 1 lime
- 225g boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breast
- 5 tablespoons desiccated coconut (32g)
- 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil (15g)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 200g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 200ml water
- 1 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce (5g)
- 1 teaspoon Thai fish sauce (5g)
Method
- Cut the onion in half, then peel and roughly chop. Peel the garlic. Peel the ginger and roughly chop. Cut the chillies in half and scrape out the seeds, then roughly chop.
- Remove the tough outer layers from the lemon grass and chop. Grate the rind from the lime, then cut in half and squeeze out the juice. Place everything in a mini food processor or you could use a pestle and mortar. Blend to a puree.
- Cut the peppers in half, then remove the core and seeds. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Trim the courgette and cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Trim the chicken if necessary and cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat a frying pan over a medium heat with the coconut and cook for 3-4 minutes until toasted, stirring occasionally to ensure it cooks evenly. Tip into a bowl until needed.
- Heat the oil in a casserole and sauté the onion mixture for about 5 minutes until aromatic. Stir in the spices and cook for another minute or two.
- Add the chicken and stir until evenly coated. Add the tomatoes and water with the peppers and courgette and toasted coconut. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cover with a lid. Cook for 20 minutes until the chicken is piping hot with no pink meat and the juices run clear. It should be very soft and tender.
- Give the chicken mixture a good stir and then season with the soy and fish sauce. Ladle into bowls to serve.
