Recipes Articles for the Month of April 2023

Serves 4

Cook your Chicken:

1. Make a few slashes across the underside of each piece of chicken (ie: the flesh side), taking care not to cut into the skin. These slashes will allow your chicken to cook quickly and evenly.
2. Marinate the prepared chicken with all the ingredients in a bowl or sealed ziplock bag. Leave overnight.
3. Heat a large fry pan or cast iron skillet. Add 1 Tbsp Olive oil. Add chicken pieces, skin side down. Be sure to leave behind the marinade as you want your pan/skillet to be as dry as possible and do not overcrowd your pan.
4. Using your tongs, press down on each piece of chicken to ensure contact on the pan/skillet. Most of the cooking will be done with the skin side down.
5. You will know your chicken is ready to flip when the skin is nicely caramelised and the sides of each piece have turned opaque. The top surface of each piece of chicken (ie the flesh side) should look like it is also turning opaque.
6. Flip each piece of chicken over to finish cooking. This will not take long. Check by turning a piece over. It should be completely opaque.Turn off the heat and leave the chicken in the pan while you assemble your bowls.

To assemble to each bowl:

1. Place rice in one half of each bowl.
2. Mix the salad leaves with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, yuzu oil (if using) and salt and pepper
3. Place dressed salad leaves in the other half of the bowl.
4. Place sliced avocado in one corner on the bed of rice.
5. Scatter edamame beans however you like in your bowl.
6. Now remove the cooked chicken from the pan onto a clean chopping board. Slice each piece then evenly distribute amongst the prepared bowls.

Enjoy!

Prepare the Tofu Chips

1. Cut lemongrass and chilli into 1½ cm pieces and blitz in a strong food processor until the mix resembles straw. If you don’t have a processor, you can finely slice the lemongrass stalks into rings before finely dicing together with the chilli.
2. Add lemongrass and chilli mix to a bowl, along with the soy sauce, salt and honey. Mix to combine. Add tofu chips and coat. Leave to marinate for one hour.

Now for the Stir Fry

1. Heat 3T oil in a wok or non-stick skillet. Add marinated tofu chips and sauté to heat through. When the tofu starts to develop a little sear, remove from the pan and set aside (along with all the marinade).
2. Heat 1T oil in the wok. Add mock meat and sauté to heat through.
3. Add lotus roots and sauté to heat through.
4. Return the tofu chips and marinade to the wok and sauté.
5. Add snow peas* and sauté until desired doneness.
6. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, by adding salt or a little vegetarian stir fry sauce.

Serve with steamed rice

*You can simply add these into your stir fry raw and allow the ingredients in the pan to heat them through, or blanch them in a pot of boiling water (with salt and oil added to retain its colour) first for 10 seconds before draining and setting aside until needed.