CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH DIPPING SAUCE

Shallots are vegetables closely resembling that of onions. But as far as taste goes, they have a much richer, subtle and flavorful than the onions. The Chefs use shallots in salads and roasts as shallots lend a deeper flavor to the dishes. Shallots are native to Mediterranean region and Israel. They are not found in wild so it has been concluded that these must have been cultivated. The shallots we eat today are the same variety that have been used thousands of years back. They seemed to have originated from, the village of Ashkelon in Palestine though there have been recent changes to this and their birth place is considered to be Asia. Around the 12^th century, the Crusaders brought shallots with them to Europe.

Serves 4
30 minutes
210 kcal per serving


Ingredients

• 500 g boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin slices
• 4 tbsps coriander, chopped
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely ground
• 2 limes, juice only
• 1 tsp light moscovado sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Dip

• 125 ml rice vinegar
• 2 tbsps sugar
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber

Method

1. Mix the coriander, pepper, lime juice, sugar, garlic and oil.
2. Toss the chicken in this mixture, then set aside while you make the dip.
3. Heat the vinegar and sugar in a small pan until the sugar has dissolved, then increase the heat and boil for 3 minutes, until slightly syrupy.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the chilli and shallot.
5. Leave to cool.
6. Thinly slice a 5 cm piece of cucumber, quarter each slice and add to the dip.
7. Cut the rest of the cucumber into thin sticks.
8. Thread the chicken on to 12 bamboo skewers, then cook under a preheated grill for 3-4 minutes on each side.
9. Serve the skewers with the dipping sauce, cucmber sticks and e.g. rice.