Ingredients
For the chicken
- 2 lemongrass stalks, roughly chopped
- 3cm piece root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- A large handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- Juice of ½ an orange (other half for the dressing)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- ½ tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 4 tbsp neutral oil
- 4 chicken legs or 8 thighs
- 5 banana shallots, peeled and halved lengthways
- Salt
For the cucumber salad
- Zest and juice of 2 limes
- 2 fresh makrut lime leaves, very finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- A pinch of salt
- 1 cucumber, julienned or thinly sliced
- A small handful of coriander, leaves pickles and stalks finely chopped
- A small handful of thai basil, leaves picked (or mint leaves if you cant find)
- 50g roasted peanuts, finely chopped, plus more to serve
To serve
- 200g jasmine rice
Preparation
Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/465F/gas 9. To make the marinade, put the lemongrass, ginger, coriander leaves, orange and lime juice, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, pepper, sugar, a pinch of salt and oil in a blender and blitz to a paste. Rub three-quarters of the marinade all over the chicken, then set aside for at least 20 minutes.
Put the shallots on a baking tray with a pinch of salt. Add the remaining marinade and two tablespoons of oil, toss to coat, then lay the chicken on top in a single layer.
Roast for 25 minutes, then add 100ml water to the tray and turn down the heat to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 and cook for another 45 minutes, until golden.
Cook the rice according to the packet instructions. Once cooked and drained, carefully pour over a few tablespoons of the chicken juice from the tray, add a pinch of salt and stir briefly with a fork.
To make the salad, zest the limes into a bowl, then squeeze in the lime juice, the other half of the orange juice, the finely chopped lime leaves, fish sauce, red chilli and salt. Give it a quick mix, then chop the cucumber however you like, and add to the bowl with the dressing and herb leaves.
Season the peanuts with a pinch of salt, then toss with the cucumber salad. Serve the chicken with a few roast shallots, a scoop of rice and a mound of salad, and top with an extra sprinkling of peanuts.
