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Recipe Garlic and Tamarind Chicken Thighs-min

Recipe: Garlic and Tamarind Chicken Thighs

If you’re looking for a ‘stir fry’ recipe with maximum flavour, look no further. This recipe is quick, easy, and comes with incredibly deep and complex flavours. Garlic, Tamarind, Mushrooms, Fish Sauce, Peppers, Shallots and Ginger all work in harmony and make this stir fry incredibly unique. As you’ll know if you've used tamarind before, it can be very sour – so if you’re cooking with it, you’ll need a little sweetness just to balance it out. I find a 1:1 ratio works well, but you may need to adjust this depending on your palate.

The key to this recipe is the gentle cooking. Don’t go mad and raise the heat too high, or the garlic will burn and turn bitter.

Recipe: Garlic and Tamarind Chicken Thighs
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Dinner
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 4 skinless and boneless chicken thighs, diced
  • 3 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3cm chunk root ginger, finely chopped
  • 4 shallots, finely sliced
  • 1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced
  • 1 red pepper, deseeded and slices
  • 8 mushrooms
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • 2 tsp tamarind paste
  • 2 tsp raw honey
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil (optional)
  • Handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
Instructions
  1. ) Gently heat the coconut oil in your largest wok. Add the chicken thighs, garlic, ginger and shallots, and cook gently for around 10 minutes, until the chicken is browned and the shallots start to caramelise. Add the peppers and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes.
  2. ) Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a saucepan. Add the tamarind, honey, fish sauce and sesame, and mix together until thoroughly combined. Keep on the heat for a few more minutes, until it starts to reduce down. Taste, and adjust to your liking.
  3. ) Check the chicken is thoroughly cooked through. Add the tamarind sauce to the pan, and toss the ingredients together. Serve garnished with a little fresh coriander.

Next on my list is using fresh tamarind fruit, rather than the paste. I’d love to know if you've ever tried it, and how it turned out!

Recipe Garlic and Tamarind Chicken Thighs-min

Paleo Diet Recipe Primal Panang Beef Curry grass fed-min

Recipe: Panang Beef Curry

Traditionally made with beef, the flavours in Panang Curry draw comparisons with Thai Red curry. The secret to the perfect Panang is frying the meat in the thick paste, as opposed to boiling it. This creates delightfully vibrant flavours and tender meat, without having excess sauce to deal with.

A word of warning, this curry is hot! If you prefer less hear, lower the amount of chilli and increase the amount of tomato puree. Why would you want to do that though!?

Panang Beef Curry Ingredients:

For the paste:

  • 5 red birds eye chillies, deseeded and chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 shallots
  • 3cm fresh galangal, chopped
  • 2 tsp shrimp paste
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • Juice ½ lime
  • 1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp turmeric

For the curry:

  • 400g beef fillet, sliced
  • 1 x 400ml can coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • Juice ½ lime
  • Large handful fresh coriander, to serve.

Panang Beef Curry How To:

Make the paste by combining all ingredients in a food processor, and blitzing to a puree.

Heat a large pan to a high heat with a little olive oil. Sear the beef strips for 1 minute each side, so they are just browned but still pink in the middle. Set aside.

Lower the heat in the pan to medium. Open the coconut milk, and take 1 tbsp of the thickest ‘cream’ part from the top. Add to the pan – it should begin to sizzle right away.

Stir in the curry paste to the coconut cream. Simmer for 4 – 5 minutes to release the flavours, stirring well to ensure it doesn’t burn. Keep adding a little extra coconut milk at a time if it looks to dry.

Return the beef to the pan, tossing it well to coat in the thick sauce. Add a little more coconut milk so there is a little excess liquid in the pan. Add the fish sauce, then simmer for another 2 – 3 minutes. Serve over rice with a squeeze of lime and plenty of fresh coriander.

Paleo Diet Recipe Primal Panang Beef Curry grass fed-min