Lemongrass chicken skewers with mango sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 800 g chicken breast fillet(s)
• 10 stalk(s) lemongrass, frozen (or fresh, then freeze yourself!)
• 3 mango(s), ripe, fresh or 1 can mango pulp
• 3 cloves garlic
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, frozen
• ½ dried chili pepper(s) (can be more)
• 2 tbsp jam, mango jam if available

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 25 minutes

Main course or finger food

Peel the mango and mash it with a fork (or simply open the can), crush the garlic, finely slice the lime leaves, deseed and finely chop the chili pepper, and press the garlic. Mix everything together to make a marinade. If you have any mango jam left, add 2 tablespoons. Cut the chicken breast fillets into 10 long, similarly sized pieces, add them to the marinade, and let them marinate for a while in the refrigerator (1-12 hours). Then skewer each piece lengthwise onto a lemongrass stalk—that’s why it’s important to keep it frozen. Place all the chicken pieces in an ovenproof dish or on a baking sheet, pour the remaining marinade over them, and bake in the oven at 180°C for about 20 minutes, turning halfway through. With plenty of mango sauce, the skewers make a wonderful main course with basmati rice; on their own, they make a delicious appetizer. They taste just as delicious cold – best served a day later, as the meat absorbs even more of the lemongrass flavor. The skewers are also a surefire party hit (unfortunately, they’re quite expensive). As finger food, I make them with less mango and a bit more spice. The quantities of the individual ingredients can be varied to suit your taste!