This is a dish that my sister made for me recently, which was pretty much one of the best things I’ve ever had in my mouth. Apparently it’s an old Delia Smith recipe, and I have used my sister’s variation on this, rather than the original, which has more coconut milk and the addition of peanuts, which only makes it more delicious.

It’s very quick and easy to make, however you’ll need to prep the chicken the night before for the best effect.

You’ll need:

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil/vegetable oil
• 2 Chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized chunks
• 1 handful salted peanuts, crushed in a pestle and mortar
• 1 bunch fresh coriander (that’s cilantro for my american friends!), chopped
• 1-2 fresh chillies, finely chopped (and de-seeded if you prefer it less spicy)
• 1-2 fresh limes – you’ll need the juice and zest
• 1 can of coconut milk (300 ml – 400ml)
• 1 tablespoon of thai fish sauce
• 4 spring onions

Steps:

1. Cut the chicken into chunks and leave to marinade in the juice and zest of 1 lime for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight). Make sure you mix it well before leaving to marinate.
2. When you are ready to start, make sure you cook your rice first so that it’s all ready at once.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok, and fry the chicken for 3-4 mins until golden
4. Add in the chopped chillli (you can use 1 or 2 depending on how spicy you like it) and stir-fry for another minute
5. Add in the coconut milk, most of the spring onions, fish sauce, and half the coriander, and cook for another 2 mins. Note that the original recipe calls for only 150ml of coconut milk, however, because coconut milk is delicious, and because standard cans are 400ml, and it’s impossible to use up leftover coconut milk once you’ve opened the can, you can use a whole can, but you may want to add in slightly more lime juice, fish sauce, and chilli etc to compensate – add to taste. If it’s too runny, you might also want to boil it off and reduce it a bit.
6. Serve with rice, preferably shaped using a small bowl or glass into a nice round ball or a tower, and then sprinkle over some more coriander, spring onions and the crushed peanuts

Here’s the pictures of my sister’s version that she made for me: