BANG BANG CHICKEN

CHEF’S TIP The leftover poaching liquor from the chicken makes a wonderful base for a fragrant chicken soup, so do save it. This originally came to The Ivy after Chris Corbin (the owner at the time) ate it in a restaurant in Chinatown. He was so taken with it that he came back and asked his head chef, Mark Hix, to develop it for the restaurant. It quickly became a firm fixture on the menu, so much so that when executive chef Gary Lee tried to take it off, the outcry reached the national press! Need we say more?

Serves 6

For the chicken

350ml (12fl oz) chicken stock 10 lime leaves

30g (1oz) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced 2 sticks of lemongrass, bashed

100ml (3½fl oz) coconut cream 3tbsp light soy sauce 1 red chilli, halved 4 skinless, boneless, free-range, organic chicken breasts

For the peanut sauce

100g (3½oz) good- quality smooth peanut butter (we use Skippy)

1tbsp hot chilli sauce (look for a good-quality brand such as Lingham’s)

2tbsp each sunflower oil and sesame oil

Finely grated zest of

¼ of a lime

30g (1oz) unsalted roasted peanuts, lightly crushed

For the salad

2 large carrots, finely shredded 50g (1¾oz) each mooli (white radish, from supermarkets) and mangetout, finely shredded 1 bunch of spring onions, finely shredded

50g (1¾oz) beansprouts Juice of 1 lime

1tbsp olive oil

1tbsp toasted sesame seeds

In a saucepan, bring the chicken stock to the boil with the lime leaves, ginger slices, lemongrass, coconut cream, soy sauce and red chilli halves. Add the chicken breasts to the stock, cover with a cartouche (a disc of baking parchment) and reduce the heat. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken becomes firm and is no longer pink inside. Remove from the heat and leave to cool in the poaching liquor.

For the peanut sauce, soften the peanut butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or for 20 seconds in the microwave. Whisk in the chilli sauce, followed by the sunflower and sesame oils, pouring in a thin stream while whisking constantly. Once all the oil has been added, whisk in the lime zest and crushed peanuts.

Keep this at room temperature until you are ready to use it.

For the salad, place the shredded carrots, mooli, mangetout, spring onions and beansprouts in a bowl, add the lime juice and olive oil and mix together. Leave to stand for 10 minutes in order to let the vegetables soften a little.

Meanwhile, shred the now-cool chicken breasts. When ready to serve, divide the salad between 6 plates and top with the shredded chicken. Spoon the peanut sauce over the chicken and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.