Persimmon-glazed chicken and vegetable pancakes
Ingredients
- CHICKEN
- 2 large persimmons, roughly chopped
- 10ml (2 tsp) honey
- 2,5ml (½ tsp) crushed garlic
- 2,5ml (½ tsp) light soya sauce
- 2,5ml (½ tsp) rice vinegar
- 30ml (2 tbsp) brown sugar
- 10ml (2 tsp) Worcestershire sauce
- 5 chicken breasts, skinless and deboned
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- PANCAKES
- 45ml (3 tbsp) cornflour
- 180ml (¾ cup) cake flour
- a pinch of salt
- 250ml (1 cup) water
- 3 eggs
- butter, for frying
- 4 persimmons, peeled and thinly sliced
- 250g carrots, julienned
- 250g (about 8) baby cucumbers, julienned
- 4 whole spring onions, julienned
- fresh coriander
- 250ml (1 cup) Hoisin sauce
Instructions
For the chicken, place the persimmons, honey, garlic, soya sauce, vinegar, sugar and Worcestershire sauce in a blender and purée until smooth. Pour this over the chicken breasts and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper (this prevents the marinade from sticking to the tray and makes cleaning up easier). Place the chicken on the lined tray and brush with more marinade. Season lightly and roast until tender, 20 – 25 minutes. Thinly slice the chicken or gently pull it apart with your fingers.
For the pancake batter, stir the cornflour, cake flour and salt together in a bowl. Whisk the water and eggs in a separate bowl and then whisk this into the flour mixture until smooth.
Heat a small frying pan (about 15cm in diameter) over medium heat until hot. Add a knob of butter and then a small
ladle of pancake batter. Swirl the pan to cover the base with batter. Ensure that you only add a thin layer as you do not
want the pancakes to be too thick. Fry for about 30 seconds on each side.
To fill the pancakes, add a bit of chicken, persimmon, carrots, cucumber, spring onion and coriander to one side of the pancake, drizzle with hoisin sauce and roll up the pancake. Don’t be tempted to put in too much filling as it won’t keep its shape once rolled.
Notes
The chicken can be marinated a day in advance or overnight in the fridge – this extra time in the marinade will ensure that the flavours develop even more. If you like spicy food, add a little finely chopped chilli to the pancake filling.
