Taste USA: Indonesian

Indonesian Chicken

How to Make Indonesian Chicken Recipe - preparation 10 minutes plus 15 minutes marinating cooking time 10 minutes Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp groundnut (peanut) oil
juice of ½ lime
Thai fragrant rice and chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) to serve
For the peanut sauce
1 tbsp groundnut (peanut) oil
2 tbsp hot curry paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp chunky peanut butter
200ml/7fl oz/¾ cup coconut milk

Method:
1 Mix the chicken in a bowl with the garlic, oil and lime juice. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

2 To make the peanut sauce, heat the oil in a pan, add the curry paste, sugar and peanut butter and fry for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Reduce the
heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, heat a wok or deep frying pan and, when hot, stir-fry the chicken in its marinade in batches for about 3–4 minutes until cooked.

4 Arrange the chicken on a mound of Thai fragrant rice. Pour the peanut sauce over the top and sprinkle with coriander.

Indonesian beef strips

How to make Indonesian beef strips recipe

Serves 4

Preparation time 5 minutes, Cooking time 8 minutes

Ingredients:
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2.5 cm (1 inch) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced
1 red chilli, deseeded
2 tablespoons dried shrimp
3 tablespoons groundnut oil
500 g (1 lb) lean beef, cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon demerara sugar
small handful of mint leaves, shredded, plus extra whole ones to garnish
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon snipped chives, to garnish

Method:
Put the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and dried shrimp in a food processor or blender and blend until it forms a smooth paste.

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over a medium heat, add the paste and cook, stirring continuously, for about 2 minutes or until the oil separates from the other ingredients.

Add the beef and stir-fry until the meat turns opaque, then add the tamarind paste, soy sauce and the water. Simmer, uncovered, for 2–3 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the meat is tender.

Stir in the sugar and shredded mint leaves, season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with chives and a few whole mint leaves. Serve with a vegetable dish and rice, if liked.

For pork with yellow peppers & mushrooms, replace the beef with 500 g (1 lb) lean pork, cut into thin strips, and add 1 yellow pepper, cored, deseeded and cut into thin strips, and 75g (3 oz) halved chestnut mushrooms. Follow the recipe as above, adding the additional vegetables to the wok or pan with the meat.

Indonesian beef strips