This year has been very busy so far, and this week continued in that vein with three cookery school days. I really enjoyed each of them. It is always so satisfying to watch people get the hang of techniques and see themselves improving over just a few hours.
And I am sure a lot of them keep it up at home, and will get great pleasure from developing their skills. As you know I am a great fan of home cooking and knowing your ingredients.
We also had some celebrations. The Restaurants Association of Ireland had their Ulster region awards in the Armagh City Hotel and we were delighted to be selected as Best Restaurant in Cavan. A nice pat on the back for all of our staff. Our restaurant manager, Christopher McPartland, was given the award for Best Restaurant Manager in Cavan. The whole team are very proud, because that is what a restaurant is – a team.
Every now and again I like to take a group of our staff to a very good restaurant. This is partly as a thank you for all of the work, but it is also an opportunity to see what other top restaurants are doing. We can always learn from watching the best at work.
So, 12 of us, chefs and front of house, recently travelled to the Morrison Room in Carton House in Maynooth, Co Kildare. It is just so lovely driving in across the beautiful grounds and golf courses.
The chef there is Adam Nevin, a local man from Maynooth, and they have been awarded a Michelin star.
Like any chef at the top of his game, Adam has worked in a lot of top-class restaurants, from The Shelbourne in Dublin to The Dorchester in London, before returning home. We had an amazing tasting menu, and it was without doubt one of the best meals I have ever eaten in Ireland. If you want a treat, then put this one on your list.
Some had wine with the meal, but I was one of the three drivers, so we had the company of some very dozy passengers on the way home. We are always so energised by these nights out, and the conversation for days after is about what we ate, how it was prepared and presented and with such good service throughout.
Over the years we have done this a good few times, and we always get new ideas for the restaurant. It’s also great to get a good reminder of how much high standards matter in our business. And we have a good night out, to boot.
Today, I have two spicy meals with an Asian twist. Regular readers will know I have a soft spot for Asian tastes. First up is sticky ginger chicken. Chicken thighs are good value and have great flavour. I love the flavour and moistness of Noone’s Poultry from their family farm in Inishowen in Co Donegal. They are a third-generation family farm but, about a decade ago, they decided to concentrate on poultry with great success.
The sriracha seasoning gives it a nice kick. I like the flavour of jasmine rice, and I usually cook it in chicken or vegetable stock. There is a double hit of ginger here. Soy and ginger sauce is one of my store cupboard essentials. Broccoli works well with Asian flavours, but you could try mangetout or sugar snap peas.
The chicken satay rice bake is a dish I cook every so often, and it always goes down well. Satay is definitely one of my favourite sauces, and I love the chicken breasts baked in rice.
Again, this is an economical meal, and the spices make it. For peanut butter, it is worth looking up Nutshed in Co Tipperary, a flourishing business set up by sisters Evie and Eliza Ward. See nutshed.ie for a great range of flavours.
To finish off this meal, Thai coconut milk helps keeps it delicious rich and creamy. Enjoy!
Ingredients: serves 4
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 red chilli
450g Irish corn-fed chicken breast fillets, diced
1 tbsp mild curry powder
3 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1 tsp hot honey
1 tbsp Irish-made soy and ginger sauce
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
Juice of 1 lime
400ml chicken stock
300g basmati rice, rinsed
½ can Thai coconut milk
Chopped coriander, to garnish
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4). Heat the oil in a large skillet pan over a medium heat, add the diced onion and pepper and cook until softened. This should take about 10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and half of the chilli (keeping the other half for garnish) and cook for a minute.
3. Add the coconut milk, curry powder, peanut butter, hot honey, soy and ginger sauce and sweet chilli sauce, lime juice and stock. Stir in the chicken and boil.
4. Pour in the rinsed rice, stir well to combine then cover with a lid and transfer to the oven to cook for 25-30 minutes until the rice is fully cooked through. Season to taste and finish with some chopped coriander and fresh chilli. Serve straight to the table.
Ingredients: serves 2
1 packet Irish corn-fed skinless and boneless chicken thigh fillets, cut into pieces
2 tsp sriracha seasoning
250g Jasmine rice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed, with white parts thinly sliced, and green parts roughly chopped
4 large garlic cloves, finely grated
4cm piece of root ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 packs tenderstem purple broccoli
4 tbsp Irish-made soy and ginger sauce
2 tbsp handmade hot ketchup
Achill sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Put the chicken in a bowl and add the sriracha seasoning and season generously with pepper. Mix well to combine and cover with clingfilm, then allow to come back up to room temperature.
2. Rinse the Jasmine rice well and then put in a large pan of boiling salted water for 10-12 minutes until tender. Drain into a sieve and keep warm over a pan with a little simmering water.
3. Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick frying pan or wok until smoking hot. Add the oil and swirl up the sides, then tip in the whites of the spring onions with the garlic and ginger and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the seasoned chicken and continue to stir fry for 6-8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown.
4. Trim the broccoli and put into a steamer, then cook for 4-5 minutes until tender.
5. Drizzle the soy and ginger sauce into the chicken with the hot ketchup and toss over the high heat for 2-3 minutes until caramelised. Add the greens of the spring onions tossing again until evenly combined and just wilted.
6. Put the Jasmine rice on to plates, top with the steamed broccoli, then finish with the sticky ginger chicken to serve.
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