We all have chefs or home cooks that we follow because we like their style of cooking. It speaks to us, it inspires us and it makes us hungry.
My love affair with Jamie Oliver began when his first shows as the Naked Chef came on TV. His whimsy, easy peasy style of cooking simple meals with so much flavour really inspired. I received one of his cook books, Meals in Minutes one year for Christmas. After book marking nearly every page, I made one of his chicken recipes. Notably the chicken skewers with a peanut sauce recipe. After making it a few times, it quickly became one of our favourites. So much so we change it up every time we make it and it’s known in our family as chicken satay with sassy noodles & peanut sauce. We serve it in lettuce wraps with this Sassy Noodle Salad and everyone devours it.
The first time I made this recipe I used too much red chile and it was spicy!! So spicy the kids had a hard time with it. I’ve toned down the amount of red chile used since then. Even 1/2 a red chile can be too spicy so you may want to start with just a simple thin slice or two of the red chile for just that hint of heat.
The chicken goes onto the skewers in fairly large chunks so I slice them into thinner slices after they are cooked and before I serve them allowing this meal to easily feed six of us. The peanut sauce packs a flavourful punch and is a must try. It’s not for everyone, but do drizzle it on and see what you think.
Here’s how we did it:
Ingredients
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- ½ small bunch of fresh cilantro stalks included
- ½ fresh red chile seeds, ribs and stem removed
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- 3-4 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 inch piece ginger grated
- 1 lime zested and then juiced
- ¼ cup water
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
- ½ cup unsalted raw cashews rough chopped
- Head of romaine lettuce or butter lettuce washed
- Metal skewers
- Pam
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to broil and get your food processor or immersion blender ready.
- In blender add cilantro, red chile, garlic, peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, lime zest and juice. Pour in a little water and puree until mixture becomes smooth. Add a little more water to keep the sauce thin if needed. Divide sauce evenly into two bowls drizzling only one with olive oil. Put both bowls aside.
- Cut your chicken in long lengthwise pieces. Bunch up on skewers keeping thickness the same through-out the length of the skewer. Place chicken skewers on an oil sprayed roasting pan lined with parchment or foil.
- Take the bowl of satay sauce (without the olive oil) and rub/massage the flavour all over the chicken. Drizzle the chicken with a little olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and put in oven on top shelf under broiler for about 6 minutes per side (flip half way through) or until golden and cooked through. Our chicken took 12 minutes in our oven. Remove to plate and tent with foil until ready to serve.
- While the chicken is cooking get your cashews toasting in a pan over medium heat. Toss them regularly and watch closely so they do not burn. You want to toast them until they are lightly brown. Remove to a bowl.
- Serve in lettuce wraps with a sassy noodle salad and toasted cashews.
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