Having said all that, I went back to Jamie's Chicken Satay recipe tonight because all the 30 minute recipes I've tried so far taste fantastic. I'll copy the bits of the recipe I used tonight below, we served it with egg fried rice and a little gem lettuce salad which were perfect accompaniments. The satay is the best I've ever tasted, packed with a freshness that you'll only get if you make your own. Cleaning the blender in this case is definitely worth it!
Chicken Satay (Serves 4)
Put half a small bunch of fresh coriander, 1 fresh red chilli (de-seeded), half a clove of garlic, 3 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter, a lug of soy sauce (tamari for those who are gluten free), a 2cm piece of peeled fresh ginger and the zest of 2 limes and the juice of 1 into a blender. Blend until you've got yourself a paste. Taste it and see what you think, if you want more of a particular flavour, just add to taste. With the chicken, Jamie has some complicated way of skewering it... I found it easiest to chop the chicken breasts (4) into chunks and then place on a baking tray and smother over the satay sauce. Put into an oven preheated to 180 (fan). I cooked for around 12 minutes but its worth slicing through the biggest piece to check they're cooked.
Salad Garnish
The chicken is perfect with the salad garnish from Jamie's book. This is as simple as peeling and washing some little gem lettuce leaves and then sprinkle over some fresh lime juice, soy sauce and coriander. These cut through the bold flavours in the chicken satay and give the dish a real freshness.
Egg Fried Rice
The fiery noodles in the book are excellent but tonight we went for some simple egg fried rice. Cook some long grain rice according to the packet instructions. When the rice is cooked, heat a large frying pan over a high heat with some ground nut oil (or whatever oil you prefer). Whisk 2 eggs with some seasoning and add to the pan and stir quickly. As they start to scramble, add the rice, some sliced spring onion and a few dashes of soy sauce and fry for a couple of minutes. Very tasty, very simple.
I think you've forgotten the cashew nuts toasted with honey!
ReplyDeleteThe cashew nuts toasted with honey are for the noodles which we didn't make. They are extremely tasty if you do make them and the cashews adds great texture.
ReplyDeleteJamie Oliver is a professional chef and will obviously be faster than joe bloe at making any kind of food... The recipes do state to have the pots and pans all ready and the blender but I have found that it is quite easily possible to cook the entire meals in 30 minutes you might just need a few minutes before hand for preparation. Yes thats not exactly 30 mins but hes not trying to set the land speed record, just prove that good food isnt tiem consumingand difficult
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree. I've made it a couple of times since and have been much quicker. The recipes I've tried from this book have all tasted great and with Jamie's recipes this is nearly always the case. I'd definitely recommend it!
ReplyDeleteYou should try cleaning your blender by putting a squirt of dish soap and a cup or so of water in the blender, throwing the lid on, then turning it on. So easy.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great tip đ Thanks
DeleteThanks for the tip, I'll give it a try!
ReplyDeleteI made some of the sauce ahead of time and marinated the chicken. It was a lovely afternoon with friends and I agree with the first commenter. It was a two bottle of wine prep time with 4 friends. The chicken satay was fabulous. The time with friends enjoying the prep and social time was lovely.
ReplyDeleteLove this meal - made it the other night. We assembled the ingredients before "starting the clock", so to speak, and it took 40 minutes to prep and cook everything. From start to finish (cooking, eating, and clean up) it was under an hour and a half. And it was FANTASTIC!
ReplyDeleteMake sure to put the water in the blender first when cleaning it then add the detergent. If not, detergent residue may cling on the sides and give a terrible taste to the next whirled food. I do this method often and it works like a charm cleaning the blender.
ReplyDeleteTamari is not necessarily gluten free, you need to read the label. Nonetheless this recipe is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteJust to let you know it should be 3 Tablespoons not teaspoons of crunchy peanut butter. Also when the recipe stated season to taste that meant salt & pepper to taste not add more of the other ingredients. Thanks for sharing it though. Really good recipe! :)
ReplyDeleteI would Have to say that Jamie's way Of skewering the meat is far from complicated it is the fastest easiest method ever all you do is place the chicken breasts next to each other on a board, ( as you are stood facing the board each breast should be laid length ways, so the longest part of the breast is facing you then place each one next to each other in the same way so the breasts are touching) then skewer straight through all the breasts repeat with the other 3 skewers then with sharp knife cut through all the breasts inbetween each skewer you will then find they are all ready on the skewers ready to go so no chopping the breasts into cubes first then threading each chunk onto the skewers, Jamies method cuts the prep of the chicken to next to no time at all where the other way would take around 10 mins to do. Plus when you say taste and then add more of a particular ingredient, when he said season to taste he meant salt and pepper , but yes you should check that you have enough of each flavour to compliment each other so that one flavour isn't overpowering the rest.
ReplyDeleteand he always states you need to get everything ready that you need before starting ie food processor set up plugged in , kettle full and boiled oven or grill on pans out and on and ingredients to hand so his meals that claim to be 30 mins can be done in that time. yes sure if it is something you have not cooked before it may take you longer but each time you do it you will get quicker and may even discover short cuts of your own.
Just wondering if anonymous is Jamie's PR person????
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha glad someone else was thinking it to! ok we all get it, Jamie Oliver can do no wrong! even though no one was really critisising him in the first place
ReplyDeleteI’m actually trying to stick to a paleo diet because I have something on this coming week. I suspect that I’ll feel much better as I know that I have a slight intolerance to dairy and wheat. So discovering your blog came just in time-thanks!
ReplyDeletehttp://tasteusa.blogspot.com
I've found I can do most ifvthec30 min meals in 40 mins and I'm no chef. Nor anyone's PA. Just saying. ;)
ReplyDelete