Name: Turmeric and lemongrass chicken on sugarcane
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1 tsp white peppercorns; 10 garlic cloves; 5 coriander roots, soaked to remove dirt and scraped; 15 gm (about 2 pieces) turmeric; 2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, finely chopped; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp light palm sugar, crushed; 12 chicken thigh fillets, skin scored; 2 sugarcane stalks, about 30cm long each; Cucumber pickle; 60 ml white vinegar (¼ cup); 60 gm caster sugar (¼ cup); 4 red shallots, thinly sliced; 1 birdseye chilli, thinly sliced; 1 Lebanese cucumber, quartered lengthways and thinly sliced

Turmeric and lemongrass chicken on sugarcane

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for turmeric and lemongrass chicken on sugarcane.

Serves 8

Prep

30M

Cook

35M

Total

1H 5M

You’ll need to begin this recipe a day ahead.

Ingredients

1 tsp white peppercorns

10 garlic cloves

5 coriander roots, soaked to remove dirt and scraped

15 gm (about 2 pieces) turmeric

2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, finely chopped

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp light palm sugar, crushed

12 chicken thigh fillets, skin scored

2 sugarcane stalks, about 30cm long each

Cucumber pickle

60 ml white vinegar (¼ cup)

60 gm caster sugar (¼ cup)

4 red shallots, thinly sliced

1 birdseye chilli, thinly sliced

1 Lebanese cucumber, quartered lengthways and thinly sliced

Method

Main

1.Pound peppercorns in a mortar and pestle until finely ground. Set aside. Pound garlic, coriander, turmeric and lemongrass in mortar and pestle until a paste forms, add fish sauce and sugar and stir to combine. Rub over chicken and marinate in a non-reactive container overnight.

2.Meanwhile, for cucumber pickle, combine vinegar, sugar and 60ml water in a saucepan over medium heat, stir to dissolve sugar, then set aside to cool. Add remaining ingredients and refrigerate to pickle (6 hours-overnight). Transfer to a sterilised container. Cucumber pickle will keep refrigerated for a week.

3.Split sugarcane stalks in half lengthways with a large chef’s knife or cleaver, then cut into thirds. Thread a chicken thigh onto each sugarcane skewer.

4.Heat a barbecue (or char-grill pan) to medium and grill chicken, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked through (20-25 minutes). Set aside to rest (5 minutes), then serve with cucumber pickle.

Styling by Emma Knowles

Styling by Alice Storey

Styling by Lynsey Fryers-Hedrick