Thai Chicken Canapé Recipe - Great British Chefs

This delicate, compact chicken and red curry canapé from Nuno Mendes is a powerhouse of Thai flavours and looks beautiful sandwiched between its coconut tuiles.

Ingredients

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Chicken skin

5 chicken thigh skins, uncooked

Coconut tuiles

35g of plain flour
25g of desiccated coconut
35g of caster sugar
2 egg whites
60g of butter, melted
1 pinch of togarashi

Thai soup

50g of fennel, chopped
50g of onion, chopped
1 lemon grass stick
3 kaffir lime leaves
1/2 tsp red curry paste
100ml of chicken stock
400ml of coconut milk
1 tbsp of caster sugar
2 tbsp of fish sauce
1 lime, juiced
salt

Thai chicken mousse

4 chicken thighs
2 tbsp of red curry paste
1 lemon grass stick
4 kaffir lime leaves
10g of root ginger
700ml of pomace oil
1 lime, juiced
2 tbsp of fish sauce
salt
1 bunch of coriander, chopped

Quail's eggs

5 quail eggs

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Food processor or blender
Baking parchment
3 x 10cm square plastic moulds

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4

Scrape any excess fat from the uncooked chicken skins. Place the chicken skin between 2 sheets of baking parchment and between two baking trays. Bake for 15 minutes or until crisp

5 chicken thigh skins, uncooked

Cut the crispy chicken skin into 3cm squares

Reduce the oven temperature to 140°C/gas mark 1

To make the coconut tuiles, in a food processor, combine the flour, coconut and sugar and transfer to a large bowl

35g of plain flour
25g of desiccated coconut
35g of caster sugar

Fold the egg whites and melted butter into the flour mixture

2 egg whites
60g of butter, melted

Spread the mixture into 10 x small 3cm square plastic moulds, sprinkle with togarashi and bake in the oven for 18 minutes. Remove from the heat then carefully remove the tuiles from the moulds

1 pinch of togarashi

For the Thai soup, sweat the chopped fennel and onion, the lemongrass, lime leaves and curry paste in a large saucepan, over a low heat for 4-5 minutes

50g of fennel, chopped
50g of onion, chopped
1 lemon grass stick
3 kaffir lime leaves
1/2 tsp red curry paste

Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil and reduce by half

100ml of chicken stock

Add the coconut milk and reduce by half

400ml of coconut milk

Season to taste with the sugar, salt, fish sauce and lime juice

1 tbsp of caster sugar
2 tbsp of fish sauce
1 lime, juiced

Preheat the oven to 65°C-80°C/Gas mark 1/4

Take the skin off the chicken thighs and combine the meat with the red curry paste

4 chicken thighs
2 tbsp of red curry paste

Chop the lemongrass and lime leaves finely, and grate the ginger. In a small bowl, combine the lemongrass, lime leaves, ginger and oil. Combine this mixture with the chicken thighs

1 lemon grass stick
4 kaffir lime leaves
10g of root ginger
700ml of pomace oil

Bake the chicken for 8 hours

When the chicken has cooled, chop the meat finely

In a bowl, season the meat to taste with the lime juice, fish sauce and salt

1 lime, juiced
2 tbsp of fish sauce
salt

Add the chopped coriander and up to 200ml of the Thai soup, adding a little at at time until the chicken is a consistency that will hold its shape as a mousse

1 bunch of coriander, chopped

Gently place the quail's eggs in a small saucepan of boiling water and boil for 2 minutes

5 quail eggs

Drain and rinse the eggs under a cold tap until cool. Peel and slice in half lengthways

To serve, for each canapé, place 1 tsp of the Thai mousse on a square of chicken skin

Make a hole in the mousse for the egg half, place it in and cover with a coconut tuile

Push the displaced mousse from the edges inside to form a perfect square under the tuile

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Nuno Mendes

For a chef, having mentors like Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Ferran Adrià must be akin to taking music classes with Chopin and Brahms. Nuno Mendes' London restaurant demonstrates the qualities of ambition that most good protégés possess.

Thai explosion II

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