Ed Smith. Photo: Sam A Harris
It was while working as a lawyer in the 2010s that Ed Smith started to write a food blog he called Rocket & Squash. Initially he says, there was “no ambition other than providing myself with a reason/handcuff for making sure that I cooked something new and also booked in to a good restaurant every weekend”. But his hobby took off and eventually he left law, trained as a chef and switched fulltime to food. That original blog is now a successful Substack where every week Ed posts his no-fuss recipes and advice. (Back in October last year we featured his squash and sage orzo.)
He has published five books. His last one was Good Eggs, which he has followed up with Peckish – essentially 80 ways to cook a chicken, or, as he puts it, “a one-stop-shop for chick-inspo”. Chapter titles range from Low Effort through Crunchy to Saucy. The recipe Ed shares here is from the Bright and Fresh section. For those of you who’ve travelled to Laos or Thailand, or just to a local Thai restaurant, Ed points out that you might have eaten grilled chicken with a tangy dipping sauce. “It’ll likely have been called gai yang, and you’ll have loved it.” Here is Ed’s version, and as he promises: “Whenever I’m devising recipes, at the forefront of my mind is the relative toil involved, and I always question whether it’s worth it.”
Words by Jane Ferguson
Ed’s roast Thai-ish chicken thighs with a hot and sour salad
You could pair the thighs with a som tam salad, but I think the contrast of succulent and savoury thigh meat against the vibrant tomato and red pepper salad offered here is ideal.
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the chicken
4 garlic cloves
Handful of coriander stems (10g), roughly chopped
1½ tsps white pepper
2 tbsps fish sauce
2 tsps light soy sauce
1 tbsp golden caster (superfine) sugar
1 tbsp neutral cooking oil
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (800-950g)
2 tsps ground turmeric
8 small shallots, halved
Plain white or sticky rice, to serve
For the salad
2-3 fleshy tomatoes (300-400g)
6-8 baby sweet peppers (or 1 red Romano pepper) (130-150g)
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
4 tbsps fish sauce
1 tsp sriracha
2 tsps caster sugar
Handful of coriander leaves (around 10g) (and/or Thai basil or mint)
2-3 tbsps crisp fried shallots
Method
Put the garlic, coriander stems, white pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and cooking oil into a food processor and blend to a paste.
Put the chicken in a bowl or shallow tray, sprinkle the turmeric all over, then add the paste and rub it into the meat. Leave for between 30 mins and 24 hrs (refrigerated if longer than 1 hr).
Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan).
Arrange the chicken pieces, smooth side up, in a low-sided roasting tin or rimmed baking sheet in which they comfortably fit in one layer. Pop the shallots in any gaps and ensure all the marinade is spooned over. Roast for 30-35 mins until bronze and tender.
Meanwhile, cook your rice according to the packet instructions.
For the salad, cut the tomatoes into chunky, angular pieces. Halve and deseed the peppers, then cut into 2cm-3cm angular pieces. Combine the lime zest and juice, fish sauce, sriracha and sugar with 2 tbsps water in a bowl. Add the tomatoes and peppers, mix and set aside.
Just before serving, toss the herbs through the salad. Spread over a wide platter and sprinkle over the crisp shallots. Serve alongside the chicken and rice.
Also consider
Cooking the thighs in a griddle pan or (better still) on a barbecue. The marinade works well on skin-on, bone-in thighs, too, and whole legs.
Peckish by Ed Smith is published by Quadrille, £22. Click here to buy at a discount from the Nerve Bookshop
Photography by Sam A Harris