How to make Thai chicken lemongrass skewers

Try this recipe for a light summer snack.

These fragrant skewers are best enjoyed when wrapping the chicken in the lettuce leaf and then dipping in the sauce. For a more substantial snack, arrange shredded mange tout, rice noodles and coriander on top of the chicken. In the mood to splurge? Replace half the chicken with prawns for an exotic twist. (Makes 15 to 20)

Ingredients

2 spring onions, roughly chopped
1 red chilli, seeds removed and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
250g chicken breasts, skinned and chopped
1 tsp corn flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 sprigs fresh coriander
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp fish sauce
10 lemongrass stalks, halved lengthwise
Oil, for brushing
2 to 3 baby gem lettuce, washed
Lime wedges, to serve

Dipping sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp chopped coriander
1 tsp brown sugar

In a food processor, blend the spring onions, chilli, garlic and ginger until fine. Add the chicken, cornflour, seasoning, coriander, lime juice and fish sauce to the processor and blend until combined. If the mixture is too sticky, add a little more corn flour. Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into small sausages and insert a lemongrass stick into each. Brush the chicken skewers with oil and grill or fry in hot nonstick pan until golden and cooked through.

To make the dipping sauce: whisk all the ingredients together and leave for an hour. To serve, place each lemongrass skewer onto a baby lettuce leaf and serve on a platter with the dipping sauce.