Hot Nights :: Cold Chicken Dinner

Hot Melbourne nights call for quick and easy meals.  As the temperatures soar, it's hard to be inspired in the kitchen. A dinner that can be prepared in the morning is always popular and this dish ticks all the boxes. This simple meal certainly delivers on flavour!

Start with up to 650g chicken tenderloins.  Place them in the Varoma tray and bowl.  Fill the TM bowl with 900g water, that's just below the 1ltr mark on the bowl.  Place the rice basket in and pour in the right amount of rice for your gang.  Place the lid on top, the Varoma trays in place and cook 15 mins/Varoma/Sp 4. 

At the end of the 15 minutes your rice and chicken should be cooked.  Cut through a tenderloin to check.  Steaming tenderloins and some veges like this (you can pour a little soy sauce on top for flavour) is a perfect dinner for fussy kids who like their food plain.  But for this dish, we are going to shred our chicken.  Empty the water and place all the chicken into the TM bowl.  Shred chicken for about 10 sec/Reverse + Speed 4.  After this pop your rice and chicken into a covered bowl to refrigerate.  This dish is served cold with a hot sauce on top. 



Ten minutes before ready to serve make the sauce to pour on top of the chicken.  I cook this sauce in a frypan or wok as you really need the high temperature from the hotplate. Heat about 2 tbsp of oil in pan.  Meanwhile, pop a large knob of ginger and three of cloves of garlic into TM bowl and chop 5sec/Sp 7.  When the oil is almost smoking add the ginger and garlic and let it sizzle away until golden brown.  When it reaches that point pour in about 2 tbsp of soy sauce and then pour immediately onto cold chicken.  Top with fresh coriander and spring onions.


Don't wash the bowl out,  just place some capsicum, cabbage, carrot and coriander into TM with some Asian dressings; sesame oil, lime juice, fish sauce and white vinegar and chop speed 4 until desired consistency.  Dinner is done!  A great cold dinner that took only about 15 mins of prep work in the kitchen.

P.S. I often cook a little more chicken and keep it for lunches.  Another post for what to do with that!

Enjoy your weekend!