Nam Jim Chicken

My Furry, bless his hairy little toes, is a WHIZZ in the kitchen. After the Double Heart Attack of 2005, he bought hisself a couple of low-fat cook books, and went from making bachelor food (wraps, nachos, etc.) to experimenting with other cooking methods and flavour combos. His Furry Balls (Pork Gow Gees) are a staple in our house.

He's recently re-discovered his cooking jones, and is now producing some SERIOUSLY good and interesting food.

Furry is an interesting case study in food and food habits. When I met him he "hated" sushi, didn't eat Thai and thought "Chinese" food consisted of Sweet and Sour Pork or Lemon Chicken. It's less a testament to his love for me, and more his inherent inquisitiveness, that he now produces some wonderful dishes. It's even more interesting to watch him change and modify recipes as his palate and his skills grow.

He's still a bit scared of high heat, of strange ingredients and of buggering things up, but I tell him no TRUE cook doesn't have a story which goes "so I thought I'd swap the (A) for some (B) and cook it a bit less than the recipe said, and it turned out crap!"

So last night, I was presented with this.. Nam Jim Chicken.. Here's Furry's take on it....

Take a packet of Hokkien noodles, loosen in hot water, drain well and set aside.

Slice 2 chicken breasts into strips and coat with a mix of grated palm sugar, a pinch of cumin and some salt. . Allow to sit for 1/2 hour.

Make the Nam Jim Sauce.

2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 large green chillies, chopped
2 coriander roots
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons grated palm sugar
3 shallots (75g), chopped
¼ cup (60ml) lime juice

Combine all above ingredients and set aside

(adapted from the Women's Weekly Low Fat Cook Book)

Fry off the coated chicken fillets in a heavy pan until cooked. Set aside. Add a splash of sesame oil to the pan, and fry off well-drained noodles for about a minute.

Plate up noodles, top with fresh bean sprouts, chicken and torn up Thai basil and coriander leaves. (Because we'd had a discussion about Thai food and flavours and textures being such an intrinsic part of what Thai food is!)

Spoon Nam Jim sauce over the whole shebang and scoff.