I thought I was being incredibly smart the night I made the Spiced Pork, and had two pots on the stove bubbling away with meals in them - one for that night and one for the next!!
Trouble was the next night came around - and we didn't end up having my "spare" meal. That was not a huge problem though, as the chicken ended up spending another 24 hours languishing in it's coconut bath - (kind of like Cleopatra!!!) which made it all the more succulent and tasty when we did have it the following night!!
This is a dish worth having up your sleeve with the impending silly season upon us. The chicken is basically cooked, on the stove top, but you leave it "marinading" in a coconut mixture in the fridge - and then just "char" the surface on the BBQ to serve it. It would be an excellant dish to serve for a crowd, as it really requires so little attention at the end.
Barbecued Coconut Chicken
Adapted from a recipe in Super Food Ideas December Issue
Serves 5 - 6
12 chicken thigh chops (with the bone in) - approx 2kg
2 x 33g sachets ayam goreng spice mix *
1 lemongrass stalk, cut into 3 pieces
2 dried bay leaves
3 cups chicken stock **
400ml lite coconut cream
Place the spice mix, lemongrass, bay leaves, and chicken stock in a large, heavy based saucepan, stir well to combine. Add the chicken and heat over medium high heat. Bring to the boil. Boil, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the chicken changes colour.
Turn the chicken over. Add the coconut cream. Season with pepper. Cook, uncovered, for a further 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.
At this point I allowed the mixture to cool, I then put the lid on the saucepan and put it in the fridge for 48 hours. You can however, simply remove the chicken from the liquid at this point, and proceed straight to the BBQ. Note that if you do leave it in the coconut mixture in the fridge the liquid will "gel" up - so you will need to scrape as much of the gelled liquid from the chicken as you can before you grill it.
Preheat a BBQ plate or chargrill on medium high heat. Cook the chicken, turning occasionally, until the chicken is golden and charred. (The recipe said another 20 minutes on the BBQ - but hey it has been cooked already for 40 minutes - it really just needs browning up!!!!)
I served this with a really simple fried rice.
Fried Rice
2 cups cooked rice (I had some left over from the sesame rice I made for the Spiced Pork!)
1 cup frozen peas
3 eggs, beaten
300g diced ham
12 green prawns, halved horizontally ***
2 x green shallots finely sliced
sesame oil
soy sauce
Heat a wok over medium high heat. Add a small amount of sesame oil, add the eggs, making a thin omelette, cook quickly, turning over until cooked through. Remove from pan. Cut into small cubes.
Add a small amount of sesame oil to the pan, and add the shallots and cook stirring for 1 minute. Add the ham, cook for another minute, then add the peas. Cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes, or until the peas have softened. Add the prawns, cook quickly, stirring for another minute, or until they have changed colour.
Add the rice, mix well to combine all the ingredients. Add approximately 1 tbs soy sauce, or to taste.
Serve with the Coconut Chicken.
* This is the spice mix I used - you should be able to find it at any good asian supermarket.
** I had some of the concentrated vegetable stock that was made in the Thermomix - I used 3 tbs of concentrated stock with 3 cups of water.
*** Slicing the prawns horizontally ensures they cook quickly, and also gives you a lovely little "Prawn curl".
So Dear Readers what little "secret recipes do you have up your sleeves" that you intend to whip out and amaze your guests with over the Christmas holiday season? I guess we are lucky down here in Australia - the BBQ will become our best friend during the vacation period (that is if it stops raining long enough to use it!!!)
