Thai roast chicken with Asian spring slaw

Step 1

PREHEAT oven to 220°C. Line a large roasting dish with baking paper (or preheat the BBQ if you want to barbecue the chicken).

Step 2

Start by making the Thai marinade (see recipe below).

Step 3

Pat chicken dry with paper towels. To butterfly the chicken, place the chicken on a chopping board, breast-side down. Use sharp kitchen scissors to cut down either side of the back-bone/spine, from the cavity opening end, right down to the neck. Discard the backbone. Turn the chicken over and push it down flat with both hands – the breast bones should crack a bit. Coat butterflied chicken with Thai marinade, rubbing it all over, as well as under the skin.

Step 4

Place chicken in prepared roasting dish. Arrange onion wedges around the chicken. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Roast until chicken is cooked through, 35-45 minutes, basting occasionally with the juices. Remove from oven and set aside to rest for 10 minutes. Alternatively, cook chicken and onions on the BBQ hotplate (sear chicken first, then cover with BBQ lid to finish cooking through).

Step 5

Wash bok choy well and very finely slice the leaves and stems. Pull the stringy tip of the snowpeas off. Thinly slice radishes and then cut into thin matchsticks. Finely slice spring onion. Mix all dressing ingredients together and toss with all the raw vegetables just before serving.

Step 6

TO SERVE, carve roast chicken. Spoon some slaw and roasted onions onto each plate, and serve with a piece of chicken. Spoon over any roasting juices from the dish and serve with a lime wedge to squeeze over just before eating.

Step 7

Place 20g coriander (leaves, stalks and roots), 1 clove garlic, 2cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped, 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, ½ – 1 large red chilli, 2 kaffir lime leaves (central stem removed, leaf finely chopped), and 2 tablespoons lime juice, in a small food processor. Blitz until ingredients are finely chopped and well combined. Alternatively, bash all ingredients (except fish sauce and lime juice) in a mortar and pestle, until a paste, then mix in fish sauce and lime juice. Season to taste with a little more fish sauce or salt if needed.