Lemony chicken stir-fry with peanuts & mint

The stir-fry is underrated these days, but add this to your quick mid-week meals and you’ll certainly go back to it again. With the right ingredients they can pack really fresh and vibrant, mouthwatering flavours, just like this one.

Lemon chicken stir-fry (serves 4)

Ingredients
4 free range chicken breasts
6 tbsp groundnut or olive oil
150g unsalted peanuts
6 spring onions, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, peeled & finely chopped
8cm ginger peeled & finely shredded
4 small hot chillies, seeded & finely chopped
zest & juice of 4 lemons
3-4 tbsp fish sauce
a good handful of mint leaves, chopped
some basil leaves, torn to shreds

To serve…
Fried rice and/or salad

Method
Slice the chicken breasts into slim strips so they’ll cook quickly. Bring a wok up to a very high heat and pour in half of the oil. When it starts to crackle, throw in the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, pulse the nuts a few times in a food processor to break them up a little.

Transfer the chicken to a warm plate and bring the wok back to a high heat again with the remaining oil. Add the spring onions, garlic, ginger, chillies and fry, stirring almost constantly for a minute or two.

Tip in the nuts, stir-fry for a minute or so and then add the zest and juice of the lemon, before adding the fish sauce. Stir in the herbs and serve with fried rice.

The wine to match

For this I want a wine that’s lemony and that won’t just melt into the background with the heat of a few chillies. The ultimate white wine comes to mind. A wine that all white grape varieties aspire to.

I’m thinking Riesling. Okay, I know Riesling isn’t for everyone so that’s why I’ll suggest a few more, but for me the Ant Moore Riesling is the perfect match. Fresh, clean, dry and concentrated with bags of citrus fruit, it’s a wine that would remain prominent, whilst not overpowering this punchy dish.

Usually Sauvignon Blanc doesn’t go so well with hot food, I believe, however the softer acidity of a Gascony Sauvignon, like the Grandiose, should work well. I also think the Castelo de Medina Verdejo is a fab wine for this. It’s got the concentration and relatively soft acidity – one certainly worth adding to your next mixed case, whether or not chicken lemon stir-fries make the menu.