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.