This South East Asia chicken is packed with flavour and is an easy hearty meal. Depending on your preference, you can have it as a grilled chicken or curry. Besides being packed with flavours, the star of the dish is the super food, turmeric.
Turmeric is used in a lot of Asian and Mediterranean cooking and is full of health benefits. Curcumin in turmeric contains anti-inflammatory properties and is a good source of antioxidant which helps reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and arthritis.
I love using root ingredients like turmeric, ginger and galangal in my cooking. It’s aromatic, flavourful and packed with heaps of health benefits. Here is my recipe for this hearty meal.
Ingredients
• 4 chicken thighs
• 8 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 4 shallots, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 2 sticks thinly sliced lemongrass
• 1 long fresh red chilli, coarsely chopped
• 3cm-piece fresh ginger, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 60ml (1/4 cup) coconut milk (if you like to have it as a curry dish, you can add more coconut milk)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Steamed jasmine rice (optional)
Directions
• Place garlic, shallot, lemongrass, chilli, ginger, coconut milk, fish sauce, ground coriander and turmeric in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
• Transfer the marinade mixture to a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat well. Cover and place in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight to marinate.
• Pre-heat char-grilled pan on medium high. Cook the chicken, turning occasionally, for 30 minutes.
For those who are pressed for time, marinade and freeze chicken in sealed bags. Leave them out to defrost the day you intend to cook. I hope you’ll enjoy this easy, healthy and hearty meal.