This dish doubles as both a crowd-pleaser and a great protein meal for your teenage rugby player. I am using a recipe found online which I have tweaked slightly to our taste and ease. This volume makes 12 small kebabs, feeds a family of 6, and if you’re lucky there will be leftover chicken for lunches later in the week. Marinading is required, and well worth it.

Ingredients

• 1kg boneless and skinless chicken thighs (you can use breast, but thigh is much tastier when chargrilled)
• 2 cans full fat coconut milk
• 1 lime, handful freshly shredded coriander + handful toasted plain peanuts – optional decoration

Marinade:

• 4 teaspoons Thai red curry paste ready-made
• 1 tablespoon mild to medium curry powder
• 1 tablespoon Garam Masala
• 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup of your coconut milk

Satay sauce:

• 3 1/2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
• 40ml dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cider vinegar
• Remainder of your coconut milk

Method

Chop the chicken into mouthful-sized chunks which you’ll later thread onto skewers. Add to the marinade ingredients in a bowl, cover and chill to marinade in the fridge for as long as possible. Min 20min to overnight.

When you are ready to cook, soak your wooden skewers in water if using on a braai or BBQ so they don’t burn. You can also cook this in the oven’s grill section or in a frying pan. We find chargrilled over fire or for mid-week ease, the gas-fired BBQ, best. Thread your chicken onto the skewers. I make mine individual portion size for visual impact with 4-5 cubes of meat on each. Finding shorter skewers is almost impossible, so I just snap my standard length in half for the aesthetic.

Make your sauce next.

In a saucepan, mix and melt together the Satay Sauce ingredients. If you wish, add salt or soy sauce to adjust for your taste. Set aside and keep warm.

Cook the chicken kebabs until juices run clear and nicely charred on the outside. Serve with steamed Basmati or Jasmin rice, toasted peanuts, coriander and lime wedges. Enjoy!

To make basic rice for 6 people: Combine 1 1/2 cup of rice, 3 cups of water, 3 cardamon pods, 2 cloves and pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, stirring every now and again so the grains don’t stick, then turn down to a low simmer with lid on (and a tiny gap) for 10 min, or until “small holes” appear (like a pancake). Switch off the heat, secure the lid on firmly, and let the rice steam on it’s own until ready to eat. Fluff the rice with a fork before dishing up.