Donna Hay’s Lime and Lemongrass Chicken is perfect. Loaded with fresh kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, chilli and coconut milk, this dish screams ‘eat me’. Yes, to some it may sound a little sexy, and truth be told, it is. It is rare to find a dish that is so rich and creamy, but at the same time, fresh, light and tangy.
If I were still single, I would have made this this dish for a date I wanted to be married to. But now I make it for the husband. He rolls his eyes with pleasure and mutters ‘this is seriously good’.
Ah, thank you Donna Hay, you outdid yourself with this recipe, it is perfection. Since most people I have spoken too don’t know about it (almost criminal really), I felt compelled to share it here on My Food Temple. It really is a meal for the Gods. The best advice I can give you today is “make this dish!” You can thank me later.
The process of preparation is like teasing the senses of smell, sight and touch. Having such fresh raw natural and divine ingredients on my chopping board fills me with pleasure – lemongrass, ginger, kaffir lime leaves and bright red chilli.
I often see kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass dried or trapped for months or years in little jars, but to purchase and use them fresh is what makes this dish full of amazing flavors. Of course there is the odd occasion where time and convenience factors have meant I’ve reached for the dried leaves and lemongrass in a jar and the dish still tastes lovely. But most of the time, I will gather all the fresh ingredients and they take the dish to yet another level where nothing else matters except the moment. Ah Donna, you are a food genius and I will be forever grateful for your fresh fully flavored Lime and Lemongrass Chicken.
You won’t see the final perfectly presented plate here. I’m sorry, but as I stirred this curry, the divine scent of it had my eyes rolling around the back of head in sensory overdrive. I did somehow manage to put it on the plate, garnish it with a generous scattering of freshly picked coriander leaves and serve it up with some jasmine rice. But I was seriously smitten, and before I could even think about taking a final picture, I ate it. Whoops…
- 6 large slices ginger
- 6 kaffir lime leaves
- 4 stalks lemongrass (white section)
- 1 long red chilli
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 x 125 grams chicken thigh fillets (Tip: cut them in quarters)
- 1.5 cups (375ml) Coconut Milk (Tip: use Ayam brand for best taste)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 80 grams baby spinach leaves
- Coriander (cilantro) leaves, to garnish (Tip: go nuts and use loads)
- Roughly cut up the lemongrass, chilli, lime and ginger. Toss them into a small food processor and let it do the hard work to achieve a finely chopped result.
- Pour 1 tablespoon oil into a medium- hot frying pan
- Slide in the finely chopped lemongrass, chilli, lime, ginger mixture to the pan
- Stir and cook the mixture (about 4 mins - it should be fragrant)
- Time to add the quartered thigh fillets to the pan and lightly brown - about a minute each side
- Add the coconut milk and fish sauce to the pan
- Simmer the chicken until it is cooked and tender (approximately 6 minutes each side depending upon size of chicken pieces - don't over cook)
- Toss in the spinach leaves and stir through the curry.
- Serve with steamed jasmine rice and scatter the dish with loads of fresh coriander leaves
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