Thai Chicken Stew

INGREDIENTS

• 1 red chilli, deseeded
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 stalks of lemongrass
• 3 large thumb sized pieces of ginger, peeled and roughly sliced
• A small handful of kaffir lime leaves, or zest of 2 limes
• 1 tbsp of sunflower oil
• 8 chicken thighs, boneless and skinned, sliced in half
• 2 tbsp of fish sauce
• 400g tin coconut milk
• A large handful of coriander, roughly chopped
• 6 spring onions, finely sliced
• 240g of basmati rice, cooked
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small hand blender, blitz together the red chilli, garlic, lemongrass, ginger and lime leaves until well combined.
2. Heat a frying pan over a high heat and add the sunflower oil. Season the chicken with salt & pepper and brown off in the pan until you have a nice golden colour on either side. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
3. Pour the oil and any crispy bits remaining in the pan into a medium sized high sided pot and place over a medium high heat. Add in the blitzed ingredients and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until they release their aromatics. Add the chicken into the pan along with the fish sauce and coconut milk.
4. Cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced a little and the chicken is thoroughly cooked through.
5. Serve the chicken over the rice and give a generous sprinkle of spring onions and coriander. Enjoy!