Anne Morgan After an hour in lime juice, Delia Smith’s Thai chicken cooks in about 6 minutes. Bite-sized pieces of breast are fried hard, then a green chilli joins them, with coconut milk and a splash of fish sauce. Coriander and spring onions finish it, and it makes supper for two.
Both How to Cook Book Two (1999) and The Delia Collection: Chicken (2003) print it with the same amounts. The 1999 book asks for free-range breasts, while the 2003 book adds that the chicken should marinate covered, somewhere cool. So the card uses the 2003 version.
She calls it “an absolute winner” for something so quick and simple. For a bigger Thai dish that feeds 4 to 6, try her Thai green curry recipe, made with cooked chicken and her own curry paste.
The lime gives the chicken a sharp edge, while the coconut milk makes a light, creamy sauce with a little heat from the chilli. Plenty of green coriander and spring onion goes on top.
Delia Smith’s Stir-fried Chicken with Lime and Coconut
Course: DinnerCuisine: ThaiDifficulty: Easy2
servings1
hour10
minutes10
minutes400
kcalChicken breast soaked in lime, fried hard in a hot pan, then simmered for a minute or two with coconut milk, chilli and fish sauce.
Ingredients
- For the stir-fry:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
grated zest and juice of 1 large lime
1 dessertspoon olive oil
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
150ml (5fl oz) tinned coconut milk
1 dessertspoon Thai fish sauce
4 heaped tablespoons fresh coriander leaves
4 spring onions, cut into 2.5cm (1in) shreds, green parts included
Directions
- Marinate: Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and put them in a bowl with the lime zest and juice. Stir well, cover and leave in a cool place for an hour.
- Heat: Heat the oil in a 25.5cm (10in) frying pan or a wok over a high heat.
- Fry: Add the chicken and stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden.
- Chilli: Add the chilli and stir-fry for 1 more minute.
- Coconut: Pour in the coconut milk and fish sauce, and add half the coriander and spring onions. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Serve: Sprinkle over the rest of the coriander and spring onions, and serve with Thai fragrant rice.
Notes
- Cut one piece of chicken open before you serve it. It should be white all the way through, with no pink, which is my own check.
- The card uses 150ml from a tin of coconut milk. Her Winter Collection suggests freezing what's left for another day.
FAQs
How long should the chicken marinate?
An hour is enough, covered and somewhere cool, as her 2003 book says. On a warm day I’d put the bowl in the fridge.
I wouldn’t leave it much longer than 2 hours, because the lime juice starts to change the texture of the chicken. That limit is my own.
What is Thai fragrant rice?
It’s the long-grain rice they prefer in Thailand, also sold as jasmine rice. Her How to Cook Book One says the name is a little misleading, as it isn’t any more fragrant than other rice.
She rates its quality very highly, though. Cooked, it has a firm bite and a faint stickiness, so it’s both fluffy and sticky, which is just how it should be.
Do I need a wok?
No, a large frying pan works well. Her second How to Cook book says a round wok suits a gas hob, while an electric hob needs a wok with a flat base.
Whatever you use, get it very hot before the oil goes in. She says speed is what stir-frying is all about, so keep the chicken moving until every side has touched the heat.
Can I make it for 4?
Yes, just double everything. I’d fry the chicken in 2 batches, so the pan stays very hot and the pieces brown instead of steaming.
Put all the chicken back in the pan before you add the chilli, then carry on as on the card. The batches are my own idea.
Can I use lemon instead of lime?
No, I’d stick with lime. Her 1999 guide to limes says they look like small green lemons, but their flavour is quite different. They’re also the citrus of hot, steamy Asian countries, where lemon trees can’t grow.
For the zest, her tip on the same page is written for lemons, but it works for limes too. A zester takes off just the outer skin and its oils, while a grater works if you keep away from the bitter white pith.
