Thai marinated chicken

Method

1. For the marinade: Grind the garlic, lemon grass, chillies, lime leaves and ginger, one by one, with a pestle and mortar, then combine with the remaining ingredients to make a paste.

2. Turn the marinade into a freezer bag.

3. Score the skin of the chicken and flatten it slightly with a rolling pin.

4. Preheat the griddle pan until smoking hot.

5. Put the chicken breast into the marinade in the freezer bag and rub the marinade into the skin. (The freezer bag saves you from staining your hands with turmeric.)

6. Put the chicken onto the hot griddle, skin side down. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the salad.

7. For the salad: Heat a little oil in a heavy-based pan and fry the cashews until golden and toasted. Remove from pan, drain on kitchen towel and set aside.

8. Peel the cucumber and remove the seeds with a teaspoon. Dice the deseeded cucumber and put into a salad bowl.

9. Pick and tear some mint and coriander leaves from the bunch and add to the cucumber, with the shallot and chilli.

10. Scatter over the fried cashews and toss to combine.

11. The chicken breast should now be ready to turn to cook on the other side. While it is cooking, prepare the dressing.

12. For the dressing:: Combine the grated palm sugar and lime juice and stir until sugar is dissolved.

13. Add the fish sauce, then add vegetable oil to taste, to make a dressing.

14. Put the salad on a serving plate and drizzle over a little dressing.

15. By now, the chicken should be ready. Remove the breast from the grill, check it is cooked through (the juices should run clear when poked with a fork) then slice into 2-3 pieces and arrange on top of the salad, then drizzle with a little extra dressing.