When it comes to meat, chicken is easily the king.
Not only is it healthier than red meat, containing less calories, cholesterol, and saturated fats, but as any chef will tell you, it’s the most versatile meat to cook with.
Chicken can be slow-cooked, barbequed, baked, roasted, and grilled, it is quicker to cook and prepare, and when used in combination with different foods it’s a fantastic base for thousands of different recipes.
Here are three dishes from our cookbook using chicken as the main ingredient, but resulting in three very different meals!
Chicken & Prawn Laksa
Laksa is a spicy noodle soup, popular in South East Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore.
It’s believed the origins of laksa are found when Chinese sailors and explorers settled in SE Asia, combining their traditional noodle soup with the coconut milk and spices of the local cultures.
There are many local variations of laksa, but most fall within two categories; curry laksa and Asam laksa.
This delicious chicken and prawn laksa has a lot of ingredients, but doesn’t take long to cook. The end result is simply sublime!
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts – chopped into small pieces
- 2 cups prawns – defrosted, shelled and deveined
- 1 tbsp olivado liquid coconut oil
- 1 onion – finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic – minced
- A 3cm / 1.1in cube fresh ginger – minced
- 1 fresh chilli – finely chopped
- 3 tbsp laksa paste
- 1 400g / 14oz can coconut milk
- 500ml / 17fl.oz chicken stock
- 1 tbsp brown sugar (optional)
- A handful of green beans, trimmed and sliced through the middle
- 2 packets ready cooked spaghetti
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- fresh lime wedges
- A handful of fresh coriander
- A handful of fresh mint
Method
Using a heavy based casserole pot over a medium heat, heat the coconut oil, then add the onion, ginger, chilli and garlic. Cook until soft and translucent. Add the laksa paste and continue to cook for a further minute.
Add the coconut cream and chicken stock, bring to the boil, and then turn down to a gentle simmer.
Add the chicken breast, prawns and the beans. Bring to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Season with sugar taste.
Divide the warmed cooked spaghetti into four serving bowls. Pour the laksa curry over the noodles, arrange chicken, prawns, beans attractively and top with sprouts, coriander, mint and fresh limes.
Before you begin, check out the instructional video here.
Chicken and Apricot Tagine
Tagine sounds like an Italian pasta, but it is in fact a Moroccan dish.
Also known as maraq in the Middle East, there are different ways to prepare the meal, and in this recipe we use the muqawlli-style way, with the ingredients placed in olive oil to enhance their flavours.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
- 2 onions, finely sliced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 3cm / 1.1in piece of fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 500g / 17.6oz boneless chicken thighs, diced
- 400g / 14oz tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 120g / 4.2oz dried apricots, halved
- 1/2 cup green olives
- 1 Tbsp runny honey
- 2 cups cooked couscous
- 1 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- To garnish: sliced almonds and coriander
Method
In a large pan or tagine (the dish is named after the earthenware pot it’s cooked in), heat the Olivado EV Olive oil over medium heat and soften the onions until translucent. Add the minced garlic, ginger and spices, stirring through until fragrant.
Add diced chicken to the tagine and fry until browned.
Add the tinned tomatoes, chicken stock, apricots, olives and honey and bring to a light boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken thighs are cooked through.
Once cooked, stir through the cooked couscous and garnish with sliced almonds and coriander.
An instructional video for the recipe can be found here.
Chicken with Avocado and Nut Sauce
This recipe can be served in a number of ways. With a side of coconut rice, as a delicious sandwich of your choice, or simply sliced up and eaten as an appetiser.
The gorgeous sauce transforms the chicken into something special, and all it takes is a little effort!
Ingredients
- 2 tbls of Extra Virgin Avocado Oil
- 1/4 cup of diced avocado
- 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts (or other nuts if preferred)
- Juice of 1 medium lemon
- 1/2 cup of thick cream
- 1 cup of chicken stock
- 1/2 tsp of paprika
- 1/2 tsp of freshly ground pepper
- 2 Tbsp of butter
- 1/4 cup of flour
- Chopped fresh parsley
- 4 free range boneless chicken breasts halves
Method
Pre-heat oven to 250°C / 480ºF. Remove skin from chicken, place in cling wrap and tenderise with a meat mallet. Mix flour, paprika and pepper in a larger plastic bag, then add chicken breasts and shake until well coated. Melt butter with our extra virgin avocado oil in a pan over a medium heat. Cook chicken breasts through until golden (around 7-8 minutes), then place in an ovenproof dish and cover with foil to keep warm in the oven.
Soak the diced avocado pieces in lemon juice. Cook walnuts in the remaining butter and avocado oil in the pan, stir until crisp and brown. Drain pan and pour in chicken stock, bringing to boil over high heat and cook for 4-5 minutes. Stir in cream, bring to boil and cook for 2-3 minutes, until slightly thickened. Take avocado pieces from the lemon juice and stir in sauce for 1 minute.
To serve, ladle sauce over chicken breasts, garnish with parsley, accompanied by any green vegetables and potatoes.
Chicken never tasted so good!
Remember, a workman is only as good as his tools, and a cook is only as good as his ingredients.
As delicious as the three above recipes are, it’s the quality of the cooking oils which make a difference to how they turn out.
Our award-winning cooking oils are the very best on the market, made to the highest standards with the finest ingredients through ethical sourcing.
Our olive oil meets every standard set out by the International Olive Council, while our pioneering extra virgin avocado oil is cold-pressed to retain all the essential nutrients and minerals of the fruit.
We have hundreds of recipes on our site, and you can find hundreds more on our Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest pages, so don’t forget to check them out!
If you would like to know more about our range of cooking oils, then please don’t hesitate to contact us today.