Unlocking flavour: Marinate your way to perfect Asian chicken
Many people, when preparing Asian-style chicken, don't bother to marinate the meat. If you're short on time, you can simply place a chicken breast straight onto the pan and add vegetables and Asian seasonings. However, the dish will be much more aromatic, and the chicken juicy and full of flavour, if you first immerse it in a simple marinade with garlic, ginger, and a hint of chilli pepper.
Dishes from Asian cuisine are best prepared in a wok—a large pan with a rounded bottom, which easily holds all the ingredients and distributes the temperature evenly. If you don't have a wok, a regular, deep pan will suffice.
Select your favourite additions
You can add various ingredients to both the marinade and the sauce to enrich the chicken's flavour. Instead of lime juice, use rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar, and add a dash of sesame oil and a pinch of turmeric. Honey can be replaced with cane sugar or maple syrup.
When it comes to vegetables, feel free to be flexible. Asian-style chicken pairs perfectly with carrots, which only need to be cut into sticks, as well as wood ear or shiitake mushrooms. Craving a Japanese touch? Add wakame seaweed. If you're more drawn to the flavours of Thailand, pour 2-3 tablespoons of coconut milk into the sauce. You can sprinkle scallions, fresh coriander leaves, sesame seeds, or peanuts over the dish.
Recipe for Asian-style chicken
The dish is very easy and quick to prepare. The only thing you need to remember is to marinate the meat in advance—it should be in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. The remaining tasks will only take you 15 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 400 g chicken breast
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 lime
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 chilli pepper
- 1 scallion
- 2 bell peppers, for example red and green
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 tablespoon potato starch
- Oil for frying
- Optional: sesame seeds for sprinkling
Instructions:
- Cut the chicken fillets into cubes. Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, grated ginger, grated lime zest, pressed garlic, and thinly sliced chilli pepper. Mix everything, cover with cling film, and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- After this time, take out the chicken and let it sit in the bowl on the counter to warm to room temperature.
- In a pan with 2 tablespoons of oil, sauté the sliced scallion (reserve the chives for sprinkling) and add the bell peppers, cut into sticks. Sauté until they soften and remove from the pan.
- Transfer the marinated chicken to the same pan. Once it turns golden, add the sautéed vegetables.
- In a separate dish, mix 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoons of cold water, lime juice, and 1 tablespoon of potato starch. Add to the chicken and vegetables in the pan. Mix and heat until the sauce thickens.
- Serve the dish with rice or noodles, and sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds.
