Nigel Slater’s quick chicken laksa recipe

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/mar/31/nigel-slater-quick-chicken-laksa-recipe

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The recipe

Into a food processor put two small hot red chillies, two roughly chopped inner stalks of lemongrass, two cloves of garlic, the juice of a lime, a handful each of coriander leaves and mint, three teaspoons of turmeric and three tablespoons of groundnut oil. Process to a rough paste.

Warm a griddle pan and cook 500g of boned chicken breast for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, until cooked. Remove from the pan and slice into thick strips.

Warm a deep-sided sauté pan or wok over a moderate heat, then fry the paste for a minute, moving it round the pan so it doesn’t burn. Add the pieces of griddled chicken then pour in the contents of a 400ml can of coconut milk and bring to the boil. Shake in a few drops of Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce.

Drop 100g of fine noodles into boiling water, drain and divide among four deep bowls. Ladle in the chicken and its sauce and serve. Enough for 4.

The trick

Organisation is the key here. There are more ingredients than I would usually want to put in a quick, everyday dish, but they require little prep other than roughly chopping and blitzing in a food processor. So have all the ingredients ready before you start. Then the whole thing will only take minutes. You could cook the chicken using an overhead grill if you prefer.

The twist

Add a thumb of ginger or a teaspoon of dried shrimp to the spice paste, or a handful of Thai basil. The flavour of the grilled chicken is part of the dish, but if you prefer something more soothing, poach it in the coconut milk instead. Use thick fresh noodles if you prefer, or leave them out altogether.

Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk. Follow Nigel on Twitter @NigelSlater

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