Salt and pepper chicken with crunchy carrot salad

SERVES 4 PLUS CHICKEN FOR CHICKEN MAC ‘N’ CHEESE PREP AND COOK TIME 40 MINUTES

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

3 teaspoons sea salt flakes, crumbled 1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns 2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes, optional 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1.5kg chicken thigh fillets

1½ cups (300g) jasmine rice

1½ cups (375ml) water

400g gai lan (Chinese broccoli), trimmed, chopped coarsely 2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 medium (140g) lemon

2 medium (240g) carrots, cut into matchsticks

1 medium (130g) Lebanese cucumber, sliced lengthways

⅓ cup loosely packed fresh coriander leaves

2 green onions (green shallots), sliced thinly

1 Combine seeds, salt, pepper, chilli and olive oil in a large bowl. Add the chicken; rub with seed mixture.

2 Cook the chicken, in batches, in a heated oiled large frying pan, for about 10 minutes or until browned. Turn the chicken; cook for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from pan; cover to keep warm. Reserve one-third of the chicken; cover and refrigerate for Chicken Mac ‘n’ Cheese.

3 Meanwhile, combine rice and the water in a medium saucepan; cover, bring to the boil. Cook, covered, on low heat, for 8 minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat; stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

4 Stir-fry gai lan, sauce and sesame oil in the same heated frying pan until gai lan is wilted.

5 Cut lemon in half; squeeze juice from one half of lemon. Cut remaining half into 4 small wedges. Combine carrot, cucumber, coriander, onion and lemon juice in a small bowl.

6 Serve chicken with gai lan, carrot salad, lemon wedges and rice. Not suitable to freeze. Rice suitable to microwave.