Sticky Thai chicken with mango salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 boneless chicken thighs, skin left on
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons golden caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• a 3cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 red Thai chilli, chopped

​For the salad

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 banana shallots, peeled and sliced
• 1 ripe but firm mango
• 2 red chillies, seeded and cut into thin strips
• a small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked
• a small bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked
• juice of 2 limes
• 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon caster sugar

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Rub the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and lay them skin side down in the pan. Cook over a medium to low heat for 6–8 minutes, then turn them over and repeat on the other side until they are cooked through and the skin is crisp and golden.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside while you make the glaze. Add the fish sauce, sugar, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, the ginger and chilli to the pan and stir until the sugar has melted. Let the sauce bubble for a few seconds, then return the chicken thighs to the pan briefly and coat them in the sauce. Remove from the heat and leave to rest while you make the salad.

Heat the oil in a smaller frying pan and add two-thirds of the shallots. Stir-fry them over a medium to high heat for 5 minutes or until crisp and golden, then turn them out on to a sheet of kitchen paper to cool and drain. Peel the mango, then slice each of the cheeks off. Slice the mango flesh into long, thin slivers and put them into a bowl with the remaining uncooked shallots, red chilli and herbs. 

In a smaller bowl, mix together the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar, and pour over the salad. Toss the salad and divide it between 4 plates. Slice the chicken and put a few slices on each plate. Sprinkle with some of the crispy shallots, then drizzle the remaining sauce in the pan over the chicken and serve.

Sticky Thai chicken & pomelo salad:

A pomelo, which is like a giant grapefruit, would make a fantastic alternative to mango in this salad. Simply swap the mango for ½ a pomelo, peeled and segmented.