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Makes
1- 1/2 pounds chicken
Author Notes
I love how the bright green color of this dish reflects the spring ingredients it’s made with. The chicken’s spicy coating is rich with the perfumes of lemon, onion and ginger, underlaid with various chiles and cilantro, and finished off with a top coat of crunchy coconut. This is adapted from the inspiring work of Elizabeth Schneider Colchie. —LeBec Fin
Ingredients
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1- 1/2 pounds
Chicken breast tenders, or breasts- boneless,skinless
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1 large
Lemon Grass Stalk, edible portion
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1 piece
Fresh Ginger 2x1" piece, peeled and minced
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3
Garlic Cloves, peeled and chopped
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3
medium Jalapeno Peppers, seeded chopped
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3-4 tablespoons
Spring onion( bulbs only) or shallots- sliced
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3
Cilantro Stems(leaves and stems), 8“long, washed, dried and chopped
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1 teaspoon
dried Red Chili flakes(no seeds)(or 1 dried red chile, seeded, chopped)
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½ -1 tablespoons
kosher Salt
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1/8 cup
Canola Oil
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3 tablespoons
Thick Coconut milk (Caukoh is excellent- see photo)
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3/4 cup
sweetened coconut flakes,carefully dry pan- toasted til medium brown
Directions
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Cut lemon grass bulb and stem in 1 inch pieces. Combine with ginger, garlic, shallots, chili peppers, cilantro and salt in food processor or blender. Puree til fairly smooth; add oil and coconut milk. If storing, seal by covering with more oil .
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Pat chicken tender bottoms onto dish of paste. Place chicken in single layer in container with lid. Top tenders with remaining paste.Marinate 8-12 hours in frig(no longer or chicken will get mushy from all the tenderiziing elements that break down the protein fibers.) .
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Place chicken on an oiled sheet pan. Broil 4- 5 minutes, just until firm, and light pink juices show when pierced with a skewer. Before serving, coat top side of tenders with toasted coconut, pressing to adhere. Salt as needed.
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Note: Makes 3/4 Cup lemongrass paste. This paste freezes very well, so you may wish to multiply this recipe. The lemongrass and ginger are both powerful tenderizers and this paste also works well for tougher cuts of beef.
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Note: I keep wrapped lemongrass, ginger root and jalapenos in the freezer. Surprisingly, they last forever without losing their potency.
My eating passions are Japanese, Indian, Mexican; with Italian and French following close behind. Turkish/Arabic/Mediterranean cuisines are my latest culinary fascination. My desert island ABCs are actually 4 Cs: citrus, cumin, cilantro, cardamom, and GARLIC! I am so excited by the level of sophistication that I see on Food52 and hope to contribute recipes that will inspire you like yours do me. I would like to ask a favor of all who do try a recipe of mine > Would you plse review it and tell me truthfully how it worked for you and/or how you think it would be better? I know many times we feel that we don't want to hurt someone's feelings, but. i really do want your honest feedback because it can only help me improve the recipe.Thanks so much.
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