Coriander Chicken

The original Spicy Coriander Chicken recipe is from Fast Chicken, a Periplus Mini Cookbook. This is my favorite recipe book for its simple and great chicken recipes. Since white chicken meat is quite healthy, we have it a lot and this recipe book is pretty worn out. Full recipe (4 servings) with my adaptations below. I love how the sugar in the marinade caramelizes & gives the chicken such great flavor.

Ready to eat in 30 mins.

• 1 bunch fresh coriander, including the roots (90 g/3 oz)
• 2-3 gloves garlic (I love garlic so I use 3)
• 2-3 small fresh red chillies (I tried it with this before but it wasn’t for me, so mine is the un-spicy version)
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons grated lime rind (I use lemon rind)
• 3 tablespoons lime juice (I use lemon juice)
• 2 tablespoons kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• 1 tablespoon oil, plus 2 teaspoons extra (I use olive oil)
• 4 chicken breast fillets
• 250 g rice stick noodles (I did not like this recipe as a pasta, I find it much better with rice)
• chopped fresh coriander leaves, extra to garnish
• 1/2 cup unsalted cashews, toasted chopped

1. Wash coriander & shake to remove excess water. Roughly chop garlic (and chillies if you want to use em) in a food processor, then add the coriander. Process for 15 more seconds.
2. Add sugar, rind, lemon juice, kecap manis, & 1 tablespoon of the oil. Process until smooth.
3. Lightly slash the chicken fillets. Place in a bowl & coat with about 1/4 of the coriander mixture. Set aside for 5 minutes.
4. Heat a heavy based pan with the extra oil. Cook the chicken fillets for 3-4 minutes each side, turning once, until cooked through. Brush 2-3 times with the marinade while cooking. (I totally sear the chicken on each side because I like that burn smoky taste)
5. Cut fillet into strips.
6. Meanwhile, cook the noodles in a large pan of boiling water for 5 mins, until tender. Drain and pour over most of the remaining  coriander mixture to combine. Divide the noodles among 4 serving plates & top with sliced chicken  breast & a spoonful of the remaining coriander mixture. (I usually skip this step & serve the sliced on its own, then serve the remaining coriander mixture in a sauce bowl)
7. Garnish chicken with chopped coriander & cashews.

Salad & dressing recipe can be found in a previous post.

Fresh Watermelon Juice

1. Slice watermelon meat & take out the seeds
2. Process with hand-blender & add some water to lessen the thickness
3. Add sugar or in my case, Tropicana Slim low-calorie sweetener.
4. Serve with lots of ice