Midweek Meals: Five new family dinners with chicken breasts that are quick to prepare

Picked up some chicken fillets in the supermarket but completely uninspired about what to do with them? Try one of these delicious and easy meal ideas

New ways with chicken breasts for those weeks when you don't know what to cook for dinner.

Chicken a la king

I feel I have perfected this old-school recipe to give a warming creamy sauce and added the beautiful fragrant basil to make it pop and feel fresh and new.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 29 mins

Total Time

 39 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 3-4 chicken breasts, cubes or strips

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 200g mushrooms, sliced

• 1 red pepper, sliced

• Sea-salt and black pepper

• 50ml sherry

• 2 tablespoons flour

• 300ml milk 300ml chicken stock

• 100g peas

• Small bunch basil

Method

1. In a large frying pan or casserole dish, begin to fry your chicken breast in the olive oil on a high heat. Season with some salt and sear it on each side for 2 minutes. Try and get a little bit of colour on the outside of the chicken.

2. Once the chicken is sealed remove it from the pan. Leave the pan on the heat but bring down the temperature to medium. Add in your butter and fry your mushrooms for 2-3 minutes until brown.

3. Now add in your peppers and fry those for a few minutes. Season the vegetables with sea salt and black pepper. Now pour in your sherry and let the alcohol cook off for 1 minute, scraping down the edges as you go. Sprinkle over your flour and mix well. Slowly pour in the milk and keep stirring and then the chicken stock. Stir it all very well so the flour is not in clumps. Add in your chicken and bring to the boil.

4. Reduce to a simmer and add in your peas and cream. Serve over rice or pasta and garnish with the basil.

Korean-style popcorn chicken

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

My popcorn chicken is a perfect snack in front of the TV on a Friday night, but if you want to make a meal of it, serve it with some plain boiled white rice and steamed green vegetables

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Korean

Ingredients

• 500g boneless, skinless chicken thigh and/or breast fillets

• 30ml rice wine or sherry

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

• Fresh ground black pepper

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 150g potato flour

•  To fry the chicken:

• 1 litre sunflower oil

• For the sauce:

• 2 tbsp Gochujang chilli sauce

• 3 tbsp ketchup

• 1 tbsp brown sugar

• 1 clove garlic

• 50g honey

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 2 tbsp soy sauce 

• To serve:

• Chopped spring onion

• Some toasted sesame seeds

Method

1. Grate two cloves of garlic into a mixing bowl. Add the grated ginger, rice wine and a good grind of black pepper. Mix well to combine. Cut the chicken into two to three centimetre sized chunks, add to the bowl and stir well to coat the chicken. Let the meat marinade for about thirty minutes.

2. While the chicken is marinading, make your sauce. Grate the garlic, pop it into another bowl along with all the other ingredients and whisk it all together. Set it aside for now. Toast a few tablespoons of sesame seeds in a dry pan until the are golden brown. Once they are ready, take them off the heat, pop them into a bowl and set aside until you are ready to serve.

3. When your chicken has marinated for at least thirty minutes, heat the sunflower oil to 180c in a large saucepan or wok. Place a wire rack over a baking tray or line it with kitchen paper.  Put the potato flour or cornflour onto a wide plate or pasta bowl. Dredge the chicken pieces a few at a time in the flour. Carefully lower them into the hot fat, again, a few at a time. Do not crowd the pan, you will need to fry the chicken in batches, about three batches should be enough to cook it all.  Fry the chicken for three minutes, then use a slotted spoon to carefully remove it from the pan. Place them on the wire rack or kitchen paper to drain as you give the rest of the chicken its first fry.

4. Check the temperature of the oil between batches as it can cool down a fair bit as it cooks the chicken. Make sure to bring the temperature back up to 180°C before your fry another batch. This is crucial if you want crispy chicken. When all the chicken has had its first fry, and you have let the last batch drain for about five minutes, you can give the chicken its final fry. If you are using a decent-sized pan you should be able to finish frying it all at the same time this time. Again, make sure the oil is at 180°C before you put the chicken in. Fry it for no more than another two minutes until it is golden and crispy. Remove it from the pan and let it drain on your wire rack or some fresh kitchen paper for just a few minutes.

5. Wash and thinly slice a few spring onions. Warm your sauce through. Put the hot popcorn chicken in a big bowl, pour over the warm sauce and toss the crispy chicken to coat it well. Serve the chicken straight away in warm bowls, with some spring onion and toasted sesame seeds scattered over the top. 

Marmalade chicken and broccoli

You could change up the vegetables in this tasty stir-fry depending on what you have in the fridge. French beans would work very well, as would sliced mixed coloured peppers, or try sugar snap peas and baby sweetcorn together

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 45 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 350g (12oz) jasmine rice

• 600ml (1 pint) of boiling water

• 400g (14oz) stir-fry chicken strips

• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated

• 1 x 2.5cm (1in) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 200g (7oz) tenderstem broccoli

• 175g (6oz) fine cut marmalade

• handful of fresh coriander leaves

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Place in a pan with the boiling water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes, until tender. Fluff up with a fork.

2. Meanwhile, put the chicken strips, garlic and ginger into a bowl. Add the soy sauce and stir to combine. Set aside for 20 minutes to marinate if time allows or up to two days in the fridge.

3. Heat a wok or large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the oil and swirl it up the edges. Add the chicken and stir-fry for 3–4 minutes, until lightly golden.

4. Add the broccoli and sprinkle over 2 tablespoons of water. Steam-fry for 1–2 minutes, then add the marmalade and 2 more tablespoons of water and stir-fry for 2 minutes, until tender and nicely glazed. Serve with the rice and coriander.
   
   From Learn To Cook with Neven by Neven Maguire, Gill Books

Chicken parmigiana

How to make chicken parmigiana worthy of The Sopranos

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, sliced through the middle and flattened

• 150g panko breadcrumbs

• 100g Parmesan, finely grated

• 3 eggs beaten

• 200g flour

• 100ml olive oil

• For the sauce: 

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 3 cloves garlic, crushed

• 600ml passata

• 1 onion

• 1 tsp butter

• Salt, pepper, sugar, to taste

• For the parmiagana:

• 2 balls of mozzarella, sliced

• Basil or parsley, chopped (optional)

•  

•  

Method

1. First, make the sauce.

2. Add the olive oil and garlic to a cold saucepan. Turn on the heat to medium and as soon as the garlic starts to sizzle, pour in the passata.

3. Cut your onion in half and add to the sauce along with the butter. Cover, turn to low and simmer for twenty minutes.

4. Taste, check for seasoning and add salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Remove the onion.

5. While your sauce is cooking, set up a breading station by pouring your breadcrumbs and cheese onto a plate, your flour onto another plate and your beaten eggs onto a third plate. 

6. Dip your chicken first in the flour, then in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. Place onto a wire rack and place into the fridge for ten minutes. 

7. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan and heat to medium. Fry the chicken for seven to eight minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden and cooked through. Leave to rest on the wire rack.

8. Preheat your grill

9. In an oven-proof dish place the chicken in a single layer. Spoon over the tomato sauce and top with the cheese. Grill for around eight minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling. Serve with a green salad. 

Coconut and basil chicken

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

This quick coconut and basil chicken is the perfect midweek dinner

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 17 mins

Total Time

 27 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Thai

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 4 shallots, finely sliced

• 2 leeks, trimmed and finely sliced

• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional if cooking for kids)

• 2 skinless chicken breast fillets, cubed

• 1 tbsp fish sauce

• 1 tsp agave syrup

• handful of basil leaves, torn

• 300ml coconut milk

• brown or basmati rice, to serve

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat.

2. Add the shallots, leeks, and chilli and cook for about 10 minutes. If the pan gets too dry, add a dash of water.

3. Add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

4. Add the fish sauce, agave syrup, basil and coconut milk to the chicken in the pan. Stir well and cook for 2–3 minutes.

5. Serve piping hot in warmed serving bowls along with some brown or basmati rice.