In February, HarperCollins is publishing the new cookbook by Norman Musa, Bowlful: Fresh and vibrant dishes from Southeast Asia (HarperCollins, HB, RRP $49.99). Bowlful is a celebration of the fresh and diverse flavours of Southeast Asia with over 80 accessible and easy to follow recipes.
From Norman Musa: “I have a vivid memory of saving my pocket money to buy this dish at the night market in my village when I was 11 years old. I waited all week for Friday night to come when the smoke from the stall carried with it the wonderful smell of grilled chicken that makes you instantly hungry. At the night market, a half chicken would be flattened and tied lengthways onto bamboo sticks so it could be turned easily to cook both sides; for my version, I use a whole spatchcocked chicken, marinated in the sauce and baked in the oven.”
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken, about 1.3kg/3lb, spatchcocked
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp dark muscovado sugar
- 2 Tsp fine sea salt
For the marinade:
- 2 banana shallots, peeled
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2.5cm ginger
- 5cm fresh turmeric, peeled, or 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
For the slaw:
- 50g white sugar
- 300g red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 10 red radishes, thinly sliced
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cucumber, deseeded and julienned
- 100ml rice vinegar
For the sauce:
- 3 banana shallots, peeled
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2.5cm ginger
- 5 Tbsp chilli paste (I recommend sambal badjak)
- 2 stalks of lemongrass, trimmed
- 2 Tbsp coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp tamarind paste
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 160ºC fan/180ºC/gas mark 4. Using a handheld stick blender or food processor, blitz together the marinade ingredients, apart from the salt, with 2 tablespoons of water until fine and smooth.
- Rub the chicken with the 1 teaspoon of salt, then rub the chicken generously with the marinade and set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight.
- For the slaw, dilute the sugar with 200ml/ of boiling water and then add all the other ingredients, give everything a good mix and set aside.
- Meanwhile, blitz together the sauce ingredients with 2 tablespoons of water until fine and smooth. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat and cook the sauce for 3 minutes, then add the sugar and salt. Stir in 300ml of water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Lift the chicken out of the marinade, place on an oven tray and bake for 15 minutes. Discard the marinade. Take the chicken out of the oven, baste with the sauce and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. Repeat the same process once more (basting then baking the chicken) so the chicken has cooked for 45 minutes in total.
- Give the baked chicken another baste once it has been removed from the oven. Cut into four pieces and divide between four serving bowls with the slaw on the side. Serve immediately with any remaining sauce alongside.
Recipe extracted with permission from Bowlful by Norman Musa (HarperCollins, HB, RRP $49.99). Photography credit to Luke J Albert.
