Lemongrass Chicken

This recipe was given to me by my friend Lotta and originally came from an Oprah magazine I believe. As we are lucky enough to have masses of lemongrass growing in our garden, and I love to have the chance to use it as often as possible, this is a meal that has appeared on our table time and time again. It's a great recipe for when you're entertaining too as you can cook it beforehand and just gently reheat ... be sure not to overcook the beans though, and add the basil when ready to serve.

When Mr. P and I travelled through Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia we loved the fragrantly-spiced food, and dishes prepared with lemon grass and coconut milk were particular favourites. In the food markets there you see big bundles of lemongrass on sale and we were sad to think we wouldn't be able to find it back home to replicate some of the meals we had enjoyed ... the stuff in jars is okay but not as good as fresh obviously. By luck, not long after, we got to know someone who had "smuggled" some plants back from Thailand and he very kindly gave us a small clump to begin to grow our own. Well several years on and we have big bushes of it all over the place, it's very pretty in the garden (see photo) and when we thin the plants I clean and prepare the stalks to keep a stash in the freezer.

Unfortunately my basil plants are very poor right now, as the season is just about over, and so I only managed to harvest half a cup of leaves ... better than nothing though because they really do give the finishing touch to this dish. At a push I suppose you could substitute with fresh coriander or mint. Ah yes, even though there are two red chillies in the seasoning, this dish is not "hot" ... it is mild and deliciously fragrant. So something for "chilli wimps" to try perhaps and get over their fear, lol.

Lemongrass Chicken – Serves 6

seasoning:
2 dried red chillies, seeds removed, or 1½ tspn crushed red pepper
4 stalks lemon grass, ends trimmed, tough outer stalks removed, cut into 2cm pieces
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

coconut sauce:
400ml coconut milk
2½ Tbsp Thai fish sauce (Nam Pla)
1 Tbsp sugar
1½ tspn salt, or to taste

chicken:
850-900g skinless chicken breasts cut across into 1cm thick slices
450g fine green beans, topped and tailed, and cut in half diagonally
4 Tbsp mild-flavoured olive oil
2 red onions, approximately 250g, thinly sliced
2 red bell peppers, approximately 450g, de-seeded and de-veined, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp rice wine (Mirin)
1 cup fresh basil leaves

To make the seasoning: with the machine running, drop the chillies, followed by lemon grass and then garlic, into a blender and process. Pulse several times, until the mixture forms a paste. Alternatively you could pound everything in a pestle and mortar.

To make the coconut sauce: simply combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl or jug.

Bring water to a boil in a pan, add the green beans and cook until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain, refresh under cold water, and drain again.

In a wide pan with a lid heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat until very hot. Add the chicken slices in batches and stir-fry until cooked through and golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

In the same pan over medium-low heat, warm remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the prepared seasoning and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Increase heat to medium. Add onions and stir-fry for 2 minutes or so, until they start to soften, then add the bell peppers and rice wine and stir-fry for another 1 minute. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add beans and coconut sauce, and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the pan, cover, and simmer until the beans are tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir in basil and taste for seasoning, add more salt if necessary. Scoop chicken and vegetables into a bowl and serve with steamed basmati rice.