Chilli Mango Chicken

Will this weather ever cooperate with me? When I want to cook something hot, it's too hot outside and when I want to cook something cold, it's too cold outside. I just can't seem to win. I swear it's a curse when you want to cook something according to the weather.

I mentioned on my personal blog that I'll be visiting Pakistan this summer. The last time I went there with my dad, we made a stop in Dubai for 12 hours. After walking around the city for a bit, we decided to pig out and be adventurous and try eating something different. 

I can't remember the name of the restaurant now but the menu seemed so tropical. I can't remember what my dad had but I ordered mango chicken. Fruits and meat? As a person who eats mainly Pakistani food, this combination seemed so foreign to me.

I made my dad take the first bite and his eyes lit up. "This is delicious!" It really was, actually, it was so good that my dad ordered two mango chickens to go for our flight to Pakistan and on our way back from Pakistan, when we stopped in Dubai again, my dad and me ate there again. 

I decided to give hunt down a mango chicken recipe in hopes of finding something that will take me back to the memory of eating mango chicken under the hot sun in Dubai, and though this doesn't taste the same, it is, nonetheless, delicious.

Chili Mango Chicken adapted and modified from The Star. 

Ingredients 

1 tbsp (15 mL) each: corn starch, low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tbsp (7.5 mL) sesame oil
1 lb (450 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch (1-cm) pieces
1/2 tbsp (7.5 mL) peanut or canola oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 tbsp (15 mL) grated or minced peeled ginger
2 cups (500 mL) sugar snap peas, trimmed, strings removed
1 to 2 small mangos, peeled, pitted, finely chopped (See note below)
1 tbsp (15 mL) Asian chili garlic sauce
Black pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. In small bowl, stir together corn starch, soy and sesame oil. Add chicken; mix well. Let stand 10 minutes.

2. In wok or large skillet, heat peanut or canola oil over high. Add onion and ginger. Cook until onion 2 minutes. Add sugar snaps; stir-fry 1 minute using metal spatula to keep vegetables in near constant motion. Add chicken and its marinade; stir-fry until meat begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add mango, chili-garlic sauce and pepper. Stir fry until chicken is cooked through and mango has softened to almost sauce-like consistency, 2 to 3 minutes.

*Personally, I think next time I'll puree the mango, I wasn't a fan of the tiny chunks of mango. I served this over quinoa that had been cooked in chicken stock but you can serve it over plain, good old white rice.