Shopping in Flushing last week I saw two ingredients that inspired me.  The first was lemongrass, I picked up a few spears; the second was fresh cayenne pepper, I bought a few beautiful chilies.

Fresh Cayenne Pepper

For some reason, I had it in my head that these had to be combined with mango, so Jessica picked up a few large, ripe mangoes from our favorite stand.

The result was a luscious, bright orange sauce.  The sauce is sweet and spicy, with a mouth feel akin to ketchup.  The roasted flavors are low key and provide an interesting depth.  Plus, this is incredibly healthy, with almost zero fat.

Chili Mango Sauce

Chili Mango Sauce
~makes about 1.5 cups

Ingredients

  • 2 Lemongrass Spears (lightly roasted)
  • 1 cup Chicken Stock
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • 2 cloves Garlic, grated
  • 1 tsp. Fresh, Grated Ginger
  • 1 tsp. Mixed Peppercorns
  • 1 Lime
  • 1 Mango
  • 3 Cayenne Peppers (roasted, stemmed, and seeded)
  • 1 small Red Bell Pepper (roasted, stemmed, and seeded)
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Lemongrass Stalks

Instructions

1. Peel roasted, outer husk of lemongrass.  Smack lemongrass with back of knife every inch or two, then cut in half.  Over medium heat, combine stock, water, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, peppercorns, and zest from one lime.  Simmer until reduced by half.

Grilled Mango Slices

2. Slice mango into 3/4″ slices.  Lightly coat with extra virgin olive oil and grill slices about 60 seconds on each face of mango flesh. When cool, remove skin, and dice.

3. Combine peppers, mango, strained stock, and juice from lime.  Blend until smooth, taste for seasoning.  Serve with your favorite dish!

Chili Mango Chicken over Rice

My serving recommendation:  season chicken thighs with salt, pepper, olive oil, and lime juice.  Grill until medium.  While chicken is cooking, simmer 1/2 cup of sauce in a large sauce pot.  When chicken is done, cut into slices and add to sauce.  Serve over rice.

posted by Lon at 08:27 AM Filed under Fusion, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.