It’s not often I get to write about bricks in a recipe so I will enjoy it while I can. Crispy chicken skin, tender and a juicy interior, it’s all there for the taking, but it does involve two concrete bricks. Beyond the chicken, the recipe I’ve included here for a spicy corn salsa is an ideal accompaniment to any grilled meats this summer.
Serves 4 
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1 x 2.5lbs chicken, backbone removed
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
Sea salt and ground black pepper
8 spring onions, trimmed
2 avocados, halved, stone removed
A good handful of coriander, torn to serve
2 limes, sliced in half
For the corn salsa:
1 chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cobs of corn
A small handful of coriander, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Sea salt
1 x 1.2kg chicken, backbone removed
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
Sea salt and ground black pepper
8 spring onions, trimmed
2 avocados, halved, stone removed
A good handful of coriander, torn to serve
2 limes, sliced in half
For the corn salsa:
1 chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cobs of corn
A small handful of coriander, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Sea salt
Bricks x 2
Being a novice to Asian food I thought I’d hit the jackpot when I first tried this hot and sour minced pork salad in a little restaurant outside Angkor Wat, Cambodia. It was savoury and mouth-wateringly good, the perfect illustration of how umami can hit you with its terrific flavour. A few months later we had dinner with a friend, Lexi; she made a laab with chicken not pork and served it like this. It makes great party food so save it for when you go a bit mad and ask 12 for supper (just treble the recipe). © Thomasina Miers. Recipe taken from Chilli Notes by Thomasina Miers (Hodder & Stoughton) (Photography © Tara Fisher)
Serves 4
70g long-grain white rice
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
500g minced pork
300ml chicken stock
3 Kaffir lime leaves
4 fat sticks lemongrass, finely chopped
2 teaspoon roast chilli powder or 1 tsp Turkish chilli flakes
1 teaspoon caster sugar
3 banana shallots, very finely sliced
Juice of 2–3 limes
6 tablespoon fish sauce
A large bunch of coriander, roots and leaves separated, roots chopped
A large bunch of mint, leaves picked
1 large iceberg lettuce or 1 Chinese leaf cabbage, leaves separated
A couple of crushed dried chillies,to serve
A bowl of hoisin sauce, to serve
Heat a small, heavy-bottomed pan and dry-toast the raw rice for a few minutes, stirring as you do until it starts turning pale golden and smelling deliciously nutty and biscuity. Grind in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder to a fine powder.
Heat the oil in a wok over a medium-high heat and add the pork. Stir-fry for a few minutes, breaking it up with a spoon before adding the stock, lime leaves, lemongrass, chilli, sugar and half the shallots. Simmer over a very gentle heat for 10 minutes, breaking up the pork into tiny crumbs.
Add the juice of 2 limes, the fish sauce and the roast rice and stir to combine. Cook for a minute or two before tasting. I like to season with a good pinch of salt but it may also need a little more lime juice or fish sauce – adjust the seasoning to your palate. Stir in the rest of the shallots and the coriander roots.
Serve the pork in the middle of the table in a pretty bowl with bowls of picked mint and coriander leaves, lettuce, chillies and sauce. Encourage everyone to help themselves to lettuce leaves to make a pork wrap with all the trimmings. Tip – This is delicious served with a bowl of Coconut rice.
