Caitríona Redmond: How to make my quick and easy soy garlic chicken

Caitríona Redmond's Soy Garlic Chicken

Back to school shouldn’t mean back to to the hamster wheel. Embrace the routine and the chance to plan your meals a little better. You will reap the rewards in your bank account and by eating well every day of the week.

Some families will see their kids trot back to school next week or even early September. I swear I’m not smug when I say the first day back for us was yesterday. 

It’s not gloating, it’s sheer relief that the meandering section of the year is over and I can establish a routine we can stick to when it comes to meal planning. 

Honestly, I have been exhausted by the unpredictable nature of meals this Summer, and it’s been a struggle to keep the presses and fridges topped up with enough food to feed the five hundred. 

Okay, it’s not five hundred, it just felt like feeding two teen boys was enough to bankrupt me at times.

At least now I know I need enough food for lunchboxes, snacks, dinners, and breakfasts. We can stick to mealtimes and not all-day grazing, and the kids will still be fed and happy with full bellies (as always). 

This is one of the best things to happen in my world for weeks, second only to finishing my college studies until mid September.

Yesterday I celebrated this small win by seasoning some chicken and working away in uninterrrupted peace while it marinated. 

I’ve popped the tried-and-tested recipe below and it comes highly recommended by my family that’s for sure.

Now that blessed weekly routine is on the horizon I’m reconsidering the family schedule. I know that athletics training days need a meal that comes with rice or pasta.

I need to stay away from tomato based sauces on those days because tomatoes are from the nightshade family and can cause acid reflux issues. That gives a whole new meaning to burpees, trust me. 

One of the kids has soccer training a couple of times a week and on those days he has to eat light before training and snack afterwards. It doesn’t make sense to make different dinners so we all eat the same food around his schedule on those days.

So the calendar is marked onto the whiteboard with training days, trips, events, and then the meal plan begins to take shape. This is a collaborative effort and the whole family takes part. 

There’s a list to one side of their favourite meals; guaranteed it will include ragout and chicken tikka masala along with a vegetarian Thai-style curry.

Once the meal plan is decided, I fill out the shopping list for about 4-5 days in advance. I can’t begin to describe how pleasing it is to see the presses and fridge stacked with fresh food for us all to enjoy. 

I prepare the main meal in the morning before work and either cook it in time for dinner or leave everything in the slow cooker simmering away in the background.

It's taken me years of routine to get to this point of organisation and I still have days where the plans fall assunder. That said, knowing what we are going to eat and staying on budget is a habit that sticks most of the time and that’s enough for me.

Home Truths – The utility stock take

As the seasons change we all know that the weather is going to get steadily colder. 

Like many, I’ve had the heating turned off since May, and once again I’m trying to make it to the end of October without turning it on again. 

This requires me to be steadfast but the break in central heating saves me a fortune each year.

For this reason, I check my utility bills and contracts the first week of the new school year. 

It’s a great time to get my costs in check before the heating goes back on and I’m using more energy on the oven or other appliances, nevermind the lights. 

Set aside some time this week to check out bonkers.ie or switcher.ie or ring your existing energy supplier to see if you can pick up a bargain. 

Apparently most people never switch provider and pay the standard rate on their utility bills. 

If you ask me this is the fastest way to save hundreds of euro on your household budget. 

Please, do investigate your prices and if you can save money, thank me in December when the big bills begin to hit!

Soy Garlic Chicken

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

Mouth watering chicken which is perfect served in a bowl with veggies and rice.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 10 cloves of garlic, chopped

• 3 scallions (spring onion), chopped

• 1 tbsp each of ground white pepper, coriander, and cumin

• A pinch - 1tsp of chipotle chilli flakes (season with your heart, folks)

• 4-5 tbsp of soy sauce

• 8 chicken thigh fillets (boneless and skinless)

Method

1. Add the garlic, white section of the scallions, spices, and soy sauce to a large tray. Stir.

2. Add the chicken thigh fillets to the marinade and coat well. Cover the tray and allow the chicken to marinade in the fridge for 1-3 hours.

3. I’m cooking for a gang so it’s quicker to sear the chicken off on the griddle, then return to the tray and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.

4. Serve on a bed of sticky rice with fresh vegetables.

5. Pour over the marinade from the tray for additional sauce and sprinkle with the green sliced scallions.