Chicken, coconut milk & mango cari by Chef Héya
UpdatedA typical dish of the West Indies
Chef Héya’s cooking is as full of flavor as the island of St. Martin itself. St. Martin chef Laïla Freedom, aka Chef Héya, introduces you to a typical dish of the West Indies, but with her own personal twist.
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE
METHOD
Marinating the meat
Cut the chicken breasts into roughly 5 cm (2 in) cubes. Place them in a container.
Squeeze the lime juice over the meat, then add the grated garlic, grated turmeric, chili, salt, and pepper. Stir well and put to one side.
Meanwhile, finely chop the scallion, onion, and sweet chili pepper.
Dice the mango roughly into 1 cm (half-inch) cubes (but no smaller, so it doesn’t become a puree as it cooks) and put to one side.
Cooking the meat
Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil to a frying pan. Add the chicken and cook gently.
Make sure there’s always a little liquid in the pan. (Do not brown the meat, to prevent it from drying out, and add a few spoonfuls of water if necessary.)
Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, then place the meat in a dish. Put to one side.
The meat is cooked when it separates easily under the pressure of a spoon.
And finally…
Add another 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil to the same pan, then add the chopped onion, 1/3 of the scallion, and the chopped sweet chili pepper.
Sweat these ingredients. Next, add the coconut milk, then the saffron, and finally the diced mango.
Simmer for 2 minutes. Check that the sauce does not stick to the bottom of the pan. If it does, add a little water.
Then add the meat and juices along with 1/3 of the scallion. Stir and simmer for a few minutes.
Stir regularly and check that the sauce does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Lastly, add the rest of the chopped scallion and cilantro.
Your dish is ready. Serve with rice.