Thai Style Chicken

450g skinless boneless chicken thighs or 900g with bone in
1 stalk fresh lemongrass
1Tbsp ground nut oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2Tbsp coarsley chopped garlic
2tsp salt
2tsp finely chopped lime zest
3 fresh red or green chillies, seeded and finely shredded
2tsp sugar
Large handful of fresh basil leaves

For the marinade
2tsp light soy sauce
2tsp Shaoxing rice wine, or dry Sherry
1tsp sesame oil
2tsp corn flour

If you are using unboned thighs, remove the skin and bones or have your butcher do it for you. Cut the chicken into 2.5cm chunksand combie in a bowl with the rice wine, soysauce, sesame oil, and corn flour. Leave to marinate for 20 min.
Peel the lemongrass stalk to reveal the tender whitish center and cut into 5cm (2inch) pieces. Smash them with the flat of a knife or cleaver.
Heat a wok or large frying pan until it is very hot. Add the oil, then the chicken and stir fry for 5 min until the chicken is brown. Remove the chicken and drain off the oil. Return the draied chicken to the wok and add the rest of the ingrediants, except the basil leaves. Continue to cook for another 8-10 min, stirring from time to time, until the chicken is cooked. Add the basil leaves, and give the mixture a good stir.

This is from a Ken Hom book that we found at a charity shop the other day. Big score! I love Ken Hom! He is the pan asian cooking guru as far as I'm concerned.

This recipe is no exception. It was so good. Make this recipe right away, who ever you are reading this, make this dish, you won't be sorry.

It's dead easy to make, takes no time at all really, the marinating for 20 min is the longest bit of it. Unless you are skinning and boning the chiken yourself. I do it myself because it's cheaper to buy with skin and bones, but it is a bit of a pain, and I would recommend getting it done for you, especially if you're in a hurry.