We went ice-skating recently, as part of the Winter Festival. This is nothing radical really, except it was on the sand at Bondi Beach. Like RIGHT on the sand. Near the water. The rink is gone now, and it’s back to sand and sea business as usual. There was a slight risk one aftenoon that the rink may have been engulfed by waves, however luckily the water only made it to the edge of the fences. The festival is now on it’s way to Sydney’s CBD, in Cathedral Square, followed by Melbourne. I can’t really skate – and I wouldn’t call what I did “skating”, but loved the experience, as did the kids.
After we got off the ice, we were cold, slightly damp and hungry. So we headed home and I was hoping there was some sort of hearty, alpine meal awaiting us. Sadly there was no such thing, so I did a quick scan of Bill Granger’s feed me now, and adapted this recipe for Satay Chicken.
I had all the ingredients at hand – and half an hour spare whilst the kids defrosted in the bath. I felt like a Masterchef contestant – would I finish the dinner before the bath finished – ready for the hungry, slightly agro hoards who would come at me demanding to be fed?
As it turned out – I did, and the end result was delicious and eaten by all. Except the satay sauce which was too spicy for junior skaters.
Recipe
Bill provided the recipe, I made some changes. Mainly as I was using whatever was at hand. His recipe called for chicken wings. I only had chicken breast fillets in the freezer, which I substituted. Prep & cook time – a very speedy 20 – 30 minutes (with all the stops pulled out). Fed 2 adults and 2 kids.
Ingredients
2 large chicken skinless breast fillets (or 1kg of chicken wings if you prefer)
2 tablespoons GF fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Satay sauce
250ml coconut cream (I used light)
1 tablespoon GF red curry paste (I believe Continental & Trident do a version, or make your own)
100g coarsely ground dry roasted peanuts (or crunchy GF peanut butter)
1 tablespoon palm sugar (or brown sugar)
2 teaspoons GF soy sauce
1 tablespoon tamarind paste (or lime juice)
To serve
Lime wedges
Cucumber chopped
Blanched green beans
Steamed rice (white or brown)
What to do
Marinate the chook: if you’re using breast fillet like me, chop them up into small to medium size chunks. Mix the fish sauce, garlic, sugar and turmeric in a bowl, then add the chicken and give it a good stir around to combine. Cover it and leave to marinate for at least an hour in the fridge.
If you’re using chicken wings like Bill suggests: cut the chicken wings into 3 pieces through the joints, and reserve the wing tips for stock. Marinate as per the above instructions. When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius. Put the chicken on a large, shallow baking tray in a single layer, and bake for 35 – 45 minutes or until crisp and golden.
Make the satay sauce: get a small saucepan out and heat half the coconut cream over a medium heat until it’s just bubbling a little. Add in the curry paste and mix it up. Add the remaining sauce ingredients with the rest of the coconut cream and stir over the heat for about 5 minutes, or until it’s thickened up a bit. I actually had my sauce on the stovetop for quite a while – waiting for the people in the bath to get out. I think the extra time helped thicken it up. You need to keep an eye on it, and stir regularly to avoid sticking.
Cook the chook: heat some olive oil in a large frypan on the stovetop, and cook the chicken breast pieces in small batches, until golden brown.
Servation (I know it’s not a real word but I like it): a bed of rice, some pieces of chook, some coriander to garnish, chopped cucumber on the side and a beer, or a gluhwein if you’ve just stepped off the ice.
