Chicken with Mangoes
Adding fruit to foods makes a mundane meal more exciting. Citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit are wonderful additions to salads and grilled seafood. You might not think of it, but tropical fruits like mangoes, which are now coming into season, and pineapple also make great additions to heartier fare like grilled pork or chicken, and they can be delicious when combined with stir-fry.
Mangoes are available in the U.S. right now and the prices are good. They’re usually shipped to markets unripened. To ripen them, place the fruit in a paper bag with a banana and keep the bag closed with a clip. The ethylene produced by the banana will speed the ripening of the mango. In a few days, your green mangoes will turn orange and begin to soften, signaling that they’re ripe.
Using mangoes enlivens a stir-fry. Add them at the end and make sure not to overcook them or they’ll turn mushy. You can also lightly grill them and serve them with grilled chicken or pork, like you would a pineapple slice.
Mangoes have a long flat seed that follows the shape of the fruit, so after peeling, slice half of the flesh close to the center of the fruit and as close to the seed as possible. Then flip the fruit over and repeat. For an instructional video on how to peel a mango, see the video player above this post.
Chicken with Mangoes
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml.) cooking oil
- 1 pound (454 g.) chicken breast meat or thigh meat sliced into chunks
- ½ onion cut into chunks
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml.) Thai palm chili oil (Nam Prik Pao)
- ½ green bell pepper cut into chunks
- 1 ripe mango, peeled and sliced into chunks
Method
- Heat oil over high heat in wok or non-stick skillet.
- Add chicken and sauté until cooked.
- Add onions, stir until onions begin turning translucent.
- Add Thai palm chili oil and stir to thoroughly coat chicken and onions.
- Add bell pepper and stir, cooking for 2-3 minutes.
- Add sliced mango and stir until coated with sauce.
- Plate and serve with steamed white rice.
Enjoy!
— Vic
Print 
PDFCategory: Poultry
About the Author (Author Profile)
Victor Panichkul is a journalist and writer by training; a cook, wine lover and photographer by passion; and a lover of the outdoors since moving to Oregon more than 10 years ago. He is a native of Bangkok, Thailand.
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
[…] Maybe it’s considered too banal for the American palate. I just love it. The marriage of sweet crunchy beans with savory pork and oyster and hoisin sauce. Go ahead, give it a shot. And find out what you’ve been missing. It makes a delicious companion to another stir-fried dish like chicken with cashew nuts or chicken with mangoes. […]