Creole Chicken à la Ralph

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 150 ml maple syrup
• 150 g desiccated coconut
• 2 liters of rapeseed oil
• 3 m.-sized onion(s)
• 1 bunch of spring onions
• 3 red peppers
• 1 piece(s) ginger, about thumb-sized
• 150 g soy sprouts, fresh
• 1 bunch of coriander or chervil
• 1 small can of lychee(s) or pineapple pieces
• 1 class can/n papaya (papaya balls)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 chili peppers
• 1 ½ cups long grain rice
• Salt
• pepper
• Paprika powder, sweet
• curry powder
• 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 13 hours 10 minutes

The night before, rinse the chicken breasts briefly under cold water, pat dry with kitchen paper, and cut into 1.5 cm cubes. Peel 1 garlic clove and finely dice. Now put 150 ml maple syrup, the finely chopped garlic clove, ½ teaspoon each of salt, pepper, and ¼ teaspoon each of curry powder and paprika into the plastic bag, and add the chicken cubes. Seal the bag tightly, mix everything well, and refrigerate overnight. Remove the marinated chicken cubes from the refrigerator and remove them from the bag, reserving any remaining syrup. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl, sprinkle with the desiccated coconut, and mix well to coat each piece in coconut. Add a little more desiccated coconut if necessary. The coating doesn’t need to completely cover the meat. It’s enough if the desiccated coconut adheres well to the meat pieces, although a lot of the chicken cubes are still visible. Peel the garlic and ginger and cut into small pieces along with the deseeded chilies. If you prefer it less spicy, use just one chili pepper. Place them on a small plate. Wash, trim, and peel the bell peppers, then cut into small strips and place them on a soup plate. Peel the onions, then quarter them lengthwise and separate the individual wedges. If necessary, cut the outer onion leaves lengthwise again so that all the strips are roughly the same size. Add to the bell peppers. Wash the spring onions, coriander leaves or chervil, and bean sprouts. Pluck the coriander leaves, trim the spring onions, and cut them into small rolls. Place the bean sprouts, spring onion rolls, and coriander in a small bowl or on a plate. Drain the pineapple or lychees and the papaya balls, reserving the juice in separate jars. If using lychees, halve them. Add 3 tablespoons of the rapeseed oil to the wok. Pour the rest into the large pot and heat. When the oil has reached approximately 180°C (test by dipping a dry wooden spoon into the fat; if small bubbles immediately appear, the temperature is reached), fry the chicken cubes in batches until golden brown, drain on kitchen paper, and keep warm in a bowl in the oven at 60°C. Caution: The cubes will quickly take on the desired color! Now add the rice. When the rice starts to cook, reduce the heat and heat the 3 tablespoons of rapeseed oil in the wok. Sauté the finely chopped garlic with the ginger, chili peppers, and onion strips, stirring constantly, and season with salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar. When the onions are translucent, add the pepper strips, papaya balls, and lychee or pineapple pieces, and fry them as well. Season with salt, pepper, and curry powder. Add half of the canned lychee juice and the remaining maple syrup, and bring everything to a boil briefly. Now add the bean sprouts, spring onion, and half of the cilantro, and mix well. Drain the rice and add it to the wok. Mix well again, season with salt and sugar if desired, and serve. Arrange the warmed chicken cubes on top, sprinkle with the remaining cilantro, and serve. This light summer dish also tastes great cold on hot days. If you like, you can use lychee and pineapple. This makes the dish even fruitier and lighter.