Thai Mango Chicken

This Thai recipe for Mango Chicken is healthy and certain to please everyone's taste. Slices of flour-dusted chicken are pan fried, then simmered in a tangy mango sauce made with fresh mangos (if mangos are out of season, canned may be substituted). Since this recipe is a little labor intensive (though well worth the effort), I'm including a quick & easy version for the busy cook. Make this dish for your friends or family - they won't be able to thank you enough!

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 package chicken breast meat or chicken thighs sliced, or 1/2 chicken sliced thinly (exclude drumsticks)
• 1 red bell pepper, or 1 sweet red pepper
• 2-3 Tbsp. oil for frying
• 1/2 cup (or more) of water (for frying)
• 1 cup white flour, spelt flour, or semolina (for dusting chicken)
• handful of cashews, left whole or lightly chopped
• handful of fresh coriander (for garnish)
• MANGO SAUCE:
• 2 fresh ripe mangos (soft = ripe), fruit scooped out, OR substitute 2 cups frozen or canned mango
• 1 red chili, de-seeded and diced (or seeds left in if you like it extra spicy), OR 1 tsp. red chili sauce
• 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal (or subsitute ginger), peeled and sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander, including stems, chopped
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, snipped into small pieces with scissors (throw away the stem and central "vein" of the leaf)

Preparation:

Note: If you are short on time, see below for a quick & easy version of this recipe.

For more information on how to buy, cut, and eat a mango, see my: All About Mangoes Guide.

1. To make the mango sauce, simply place all sauce ingredients in a food processor or chopper. Process well.
2. Do a taste test for salt, spice, and sweetness. Add more sugar if you find the sauce too sour (the sourness/sweetness will depend on the sweetness of your mangoes). If too sweet, add a little more vinegar. If not spicy enough, add more fresh chili or chili sauce. If not salty enough, add more fish sauce. If too salty, add more lime juice (the goal is to reach a balance of sweet, sour, spicy, and salty). Set sauce aside.
3. Place flour on a plate or clean working surface and turn chicken slices over in it until they are well coated.
4. Place oil in a wok or frying pan over medium to high heat. When the pan is hot, add the chicken slices. Fry for 5 to 10 minutes or more on each side (depending on thickness), until chicken is cooked through. Frying Tip: When wok/pan becomes too dry, instead of adding more oil, add a little water (1 Tbsp. at a time). This will keep the chicken frying without adding extra fat/calories.
5. Place mango sauce in another (clean) frying pan/wok over medium heat. Add cooked chicken slices. Also add the red bell pepper (or sweet pepper).
6. Stirring occasionally, bring the mango chicken to a boil, then reduce to a simmer (medium to low heat) for 10 minutes, or until peppers have softened.
7. To serve, tip into a serving bowl or a platter with sides to keep sauce from spilling. Sprinkle with cashews and sprigs of fresh coriander. Serve with plenty of Thai jasmine-scented rice, Thai brown rice, or for an extra special treat, my Easy Coconut Rice.

QUICK & EASY VERSION:

• Make the mango sauce as instructed above.
• Instead of dusting the chicken and frying it, simply place raw chicken slices directly into a frying pan/wok along with the sauce and red pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. (For this version, there is no need to use oil in the wok/frying pan, so you'll save a little on calories and fat.)
• Reduce to a simmer (medium-low heat), and cover. Stirring occasionally to keep from sticking, continue cooking for 30 minutes (or until chicken is well done).
• Finish the dish with a sprinkling of cashews and fresh coriander, and serve in the same way as instructed above.

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