Mango Chicken with Thai Jasmine Rice

It’s mango season. Celebrate this odd-looking, difficult-to-cut-until-you-learn-the-technique fruit by making this sauce to serve with chicken and Thai rice. It has a perfect balance of sweet and sour, salt and spice. Click here to see how easy it can be to cut a mango.

Serves 4
Ingredients
Mango Sauce:

• cubed fruit from 3 ripe mangoes (Use 2 mangoes in the sauce, reserve 1 for garnish.)
• 1 red chili, de-seeded and diced, OR 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili
• 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar (OR white or apple cider)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 thumb-size piece ginger, grated
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• zest of 1 lime or 2 kaffir lime leaves, snipped into slivers with scissors (discard stem & central vein) *I have tried both and found the lime leaves much too overpowering.
• Optional: 3-4 Tbsp. coconut milk

Rice and Chicken:

• 2 cups Thai jasmine rice
• 4 cups (or a little less) water or chicken broth
• 2-3 boneless chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise into 3-4 pieces each
• 1 cup all-purpose flour mixed with 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
• 1 sweet red pepper, finely diced
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh cilantro

Directions

• Place all Mango Sauce ingredients in a food processor. Process until more or less smooth. This sauce can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.
• Cook the rice in water or broth, following package instructions.
• Stir the flour and salt together and place in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken pieces and turn or gently stir them to coat.
• Heat a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil, then begin frying the chicken pieces. Fry 3-5 minutes per side, or until light golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and set on paper towel, or a clean surface.
• Wash out the pan, or use another clean one. Set over medium-high heat and add the mango sauce and the chopped red pepper. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. If sauce becomes too thick, add 3-4 Tbsp. water or coconut milk. Simmer 3-4 minutes, or until pepper has softened slightly but is still tender crisp.
• Add the fried chicken pieces, gently stirring them in to cover with sauce. Add the reserved mango chunks and simmer just until heated through.
• Transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro and serve with plenty of Thai jasmine-scented rice.

What’s your favourite way to use mangoes? I’m thinking of trying a similar sauce with scallops. Have you tried this combination?