Stir-fried chicken and snake beans with chilli relish

"Walking the streets of Jakarta, I came across a stall with a cook behind a wok who looked around 12 years old, but was working the wok like a pro – so I just had to try his cooking. He whipped up a dish within minutes with wonderful sweet aromas of chilli wafting through the streets. I was very impressed with his skills and the simplicity of his dish." Luke Nguyen, Luke Nguyen's Street Food Asia

Stir-fried chicken and snake beans with chilli relish. Credit: Alan Benson

• serves

  2

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 3 red Asian shallots, diced
• 300 g chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 5 tbsp chilli paste with soya bean oil (see Note)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• pinch of salt
• 100 g snake beans, cut into 5 cm lengths, blanched
• 1 long fresh red chilli, sliced
• 2 long dried red chillies, soaked in water for 10 minutes, sliced into 2 cm lengths
• 2 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
• 2 coriander sprigs
• steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and red shallot for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Increase the heat to high, then add the chicken pieces and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the chilli paste, soy sauce and salt and stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Add the snake beans, sliced fresh and dried chili and spring onion, then stir-fry for another minute. Garnish with coriander and serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Note

• Chilli paste in soya bean oil is readily available in jars from Asian markets. I prefer the Pantai brand.

Photography by Alan Benson. Styling by Lucy Tweed. Food preparation by Tammi Kwok.

Luke Nguyen's Street Food Asia airs Thursday at 8.30pm on SBS. Visit the program page for recipes, videos and more.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.