Ingredients
- For the chicken
6 chicken breasts, skin on - 11 tbsp fish sauce
- 5 cloves garlic
- 3cm piece ginger
- 2cm piece galangal
- 2.5cm piece fresh tumeric
- 2 red bird's-eye chillies, seeded
- 1 long green chilli, seeded
- 5 coriander roots, washed
- 1 stalk lemongrass (white end only), finely sliced
- 5 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
- 1 tsp roasted shrimp paste*
- 1 tsp coriander seeds, lightly roasted
- 2 tbsp shaved palm sugar
- 300ml coconut cream
For the salad - 2 tbsp cashew nuts, lightly roasted
- 1 tsp roasted shrimp paste
- 1 stalk lemongrass (white end only), finely sliced
- 3 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded1 red bird's-eye chilli, finely sliced
- 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup snake beans cut into batons, blanched
- 2 cups green (unripe) mango, diced**
- 1 cup mint leaves
- 1 cup coriander leaves
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves
- 1 tbsp tamarind water***
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 11 tbsp lime juice
- 1 cup chilli jam****
Method
For the chicken: Combine the chicken breasts and fish sauce in a bowl, rubbing the fish sauce into the meat. Leave to marinate for 1 hour.
- Peel and roughly chop the garlic, ginger, galangal, turmeric, chillies and coriander root.
- Using a mortar and pestle, pound them to a fine paste with the lemongrass, lime leaves, shrimp paste and coriander seeds. Add the palm sugar and coconut cream then add the mixture to the chicken breasts. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
For the salad: Using a mortar and pestle, pound the cashews, roasted shrimp paste, lemongrass, lime leaves, chilli, cherry tomatoes and beans to a coarse paste. Add the mango, herbs, tamarind water, fish sauce and lime juice and gently combine.
- Taste for a balance of flavours, adjusting if necessary.
- To serve: Heat a grill or barbecue to medium heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the grill skin-side down. Cook 5 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and caramelised, then turn and cook for another 5 minutes or until cooked through. Baste the chicken with the remaining marinade as it cooks.
- Serve the chicken with the green mango salad and chilli jam, and steamed jasmine rice.
* Roasted shrimp paste (sometimes known as belacan) comes in a hard block and is available at most good Asian grocers.
** Green mango, when in season, should be available at most good greengrocers. It is slightly firmer, and more bullet-shaped than ripe mango.
*** Tamarind water is made by soaking tamarind pulp or puree in water.
**** Chilli jam is available at Gingerboy, Simon Johnson and Essential Ingredient. A good substitute is Huy Fong Sriracha Hot Chilli Sauce.
