Last night’s dinner was a winner winner chicken dinner – both literally and idiomatically.
So today’s post is a recipe
Roast chicken portions in coconut curry sauce
This may be the easiest meals you will ever make that has the maximum impact. Feel free to pretend it was way harder than it is
The first prize recipe is obvs the best option, but the options in brackets are actually fine too – just do what you can.
So, you need:
Chicken portions. I use thighs and legs but breasts would work too. Wings may not work so well but they wouldn’t be bad. And you want skin on portions.
A can of coconut milk
1 tsp curry paste. I used green thai curry paste but you could use anything.
1 stalk lemon grass, cleaned and bashed flat (if you don’t have, don’t panic)
1 or 2 limes – use the juice and the zest (again, if you don’t have limes you could use lemons. Fresh is the best option but I don’t think the bottled stuff would run the meal.)
1 tsp fish sauce (this gives the meal a deep, satisfying seasoning without blasting your blood pressure through the roof with salt. But salt is okay too)
1 or 2 potatoes – grated (I added this to make the sauce thicker. You could leave it out if you are anti potato, just know the sauce will remain the consistency of the coconut milk)
salt and pepper to your liking.
You do:
In a bowl, mix the coconut milk, all the other bits and pieces (not the chicken) and the grated potato. Put this mixture in an oven proof bowl or casserole. Put the chicken pieces in, skin side up with the skin showing above the sauce. I like to spray the skin with some olive oil and sprinkle it with salt to up the crispiness but that’s not entirely necessary
Put it all in the oven at 180 for about an hour, until the chicken is cooked
And there you have it – roasted chicken portions in a coconut curry sauce
I served it with cauli/broc rice with beans.
You can make it even more of a one dish meal by putting veg in, around the chicken,
about half way through the cooking. Cauliflower florets, broccoli florets, beans and even baby marrows would quite happily cook partly submerged in the sauce at the same temperature.
And if you are really determined to do a one pot dish, once the chicken is cooked, take the chicken (and veg if you added them) out of the sauce, and stir cous cous into it. Leave for a few minutes and your starch and sauce will be one lovely, gloopy taste sensation. If you plan to do this, omit the potato as the cous cous will do the thickening for you
There you have it – an easy, adaptable recipe which is very tasty and truly quick to make
