I am always on the look out to try something new to our dinner table. A while ago, the Waitrose magazine had a little curry booklet, and there I found a recipe for Adobo Coconut Chicken – which I had never heard of before. So, as we have stopped eating chicken and other meat, I wondered how it would work with a vegetarian alternative to chicken. I may have some of the timings wrong in this adaptation. The Quorn probably does not need cooking for as long as chicken would. But the time allowed the sauce to become enriched and phenomenal.
What a massive punch of flavour it delivered. I was not expecting the fiery ginger hit. But it was very enjoyable. We will definitely try this again, but probably in the winter. It would warm you up on the coldest night.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- around 1kg mock-chicken fillets (I used Quorn fillets)
- 50g fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 8 garlic cloves, sliced
- 3 onions, cut into small wedges
- 100ml soy sauce
- 250ml cider vinegar
- 200ml cocunut milk
- 2tbsp caster sugar
- 1tsp chilli flakes
- 240g basmati rice
- 4 salad onions, shredded
METHOD
Heat the sesame oil in a wide pan. Add the mock-chicken fillets. On a medium-high heat, cook them on each side until they brown on both sides and cooked through. Remove them from the pan once they are cooked and allow to rest while you prepare the sauce.
Using the same pan, stir the onions, soy sauce, vinegar, coconut milk, sugar and chilli flakes all together. Nestle the mock-chicken fillets into the sauce. Cover and cook on a low heat for thirty minutes.
Remove the lid and turn up the heat. Simmer briskly for another twenty-five minutes. The sauce should reduce and thicken. As it cooks it will become more concentrated and intense.
Meanwhile cook the rice and divide between serving dishes. Smother with the mock-chicken and sauce and sprinkle to shredded spring onions over the top.
LADY LEWIS 