Midweek Meals: Five chicken dinners perfect for early summer evenings

Winner winner chicken dinner — use breast or thigh or leftover roast chicken for these quick and easy dinner recipes 

What's for dinner? Easy family meals using chicken

Marmalade chicken and broccoli

recipe by:Neven Maguire

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

Korean fried chicken bowls

Super-crispy chicken bathed in a sauce made spicy by the addition of gochujang, Korea’s famous spice paste

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the chicken:

• 250ml (1 cup) buttermilk

• 8 free-range chicken thighs (bone in and skin on), cut into bite-sized pieces

• 100g (3½oz) cornflakes

• 85g (3oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

• 2 tsp chilli powder

• 2 tsp garlic powder

• Sunflower oil spray

• For the sauce:

• 8 cloves of garlic, finely grated

• 1 large thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely grated

• 6tbsp light soy sauce

• 70g (2 ½oz) gochujang (Korean chilli paste)

• 4 tbsp rice wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar

• For the bowls:

• 250g (9oz) sticky rice, cooked

• ½ head red cabbage, thinly sliced

• 6 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced

• Handful of radishes, finely sliced

• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

• A good handful of coriander leaves

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/180˚C fan/400˚F/Gas 6.

2. In a large bowl, mix the buttermilk with a generous season of sea salt and ground black pepper. Add the chicken to the bowl and marinate for at least 30 minutes. Set aside.

3. Pour the cornflakes in a large freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin to a coarse powder. Add the flour, chilli and garlic powders to the bag along with salt and pepper. Seal the bag and shake the mix until combined.

4. Pour the dry mix into a large wide shallow bowl. One by one using tongs, dip each marinated chicken piece (shaking off any excess) in the dry mix until coated on all sides.

5. Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spritz with sunflower oil spray. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and crispy, turning halfway through to make sure they’re golden on all sides.

6. While the chicken cooks, prepare the sauce. In a small saucepan whisk together the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, gochujang, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and brown sugar.

7. Place the saucepan over a medium heat and bring to a low simmer, cooking until the sugar is just dissolved – about three minutes. Set aside.

8. Once the chicken has cooked, brush with the sauce.

9. Assemble serving bowls with the sticky rice, cabbage, spring onions, radishes, chicken pieces, sesame seeds and plenty of coriander. Drizzle with more of the spicy sauce as needed.
   
   Recipe from Everyday Cook by Donal Skehan, published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £25. Available now.