World Foods Chilli Coconut Marinade Review and Vegetarian Stir Fry

I was recently challenged by World Foods to create a vegetarian dish with their new Malaysian Chilli & Coconut Marinade and so decided to introduce this as my last dish of National Vegetarian week

Often, many of us will lack the confidence to gather the ingredients and prepare Asian-style sauces from scratch, plus many of us just do not have the time.  A recent online poll showed that over 50% of people have less than 30 minutes to prepare a meal at night.  This is where World Foods comes in, providing a range of Asian flavoured foods and pastes to help prepare tasty, quick meals.  Their range of sauces include chutneys, toppings, marinades, noodle sauces, stir-fry sauces and dipping sauces.

The Malaysian Chilli & Coconut marinade is described as “A spicy and aromatic marinade with sweet notes of coconut milk, complemented with turmeric and spicy chilli”.  The marinade is a wonderful combination of rich orange and red colours.  It is made using authentic herbs and spices and is 100% natural.  It is also free from preservatives, MSG’s, gluten and other genetically modified ingredients and is suitable for vegetarians, vegans and coeliacs.

Traditionally, the sauce is used to cook “Ayam Percik” which translates as "Chicken Splash”.  It is a dish traditionally found in the east coast peninsular of Malaysia. You could cook a vegetarian version of Ayam Percik substituting the chicken for Quorn Chicken Fillets and cooking the dish as suggested on the World Foods website. Alternatively, you could try coating Quorn Chicken Fillets with the sauce and covering them in breadcrumbs for a Chilli Chicken with a spicy kick.

As I was going away for the bank holiday weekend, I thought that a Chilli and Coconut stir-fry would be the perfect way to use up all of the left over vegetables in my fridge.   I decided to include Quorn chicken pieces in my stir fry, but the dish would work just as well without.  You could also marinade the vegetables first, for a more intense flavour, before stir frying. 

I prefer my food slightly less spicy (the sauce is described as hot), so I combined the marinade with coconut milk for a milder, creamier taste.  There is apparently a bit of a world shortage of coconut milk at the moment, so you could also tone it down with natural yogurt.  My husband however, loved the spiciness of the marinade just as it came and would have happily eaten the dish with the coconut milk omitted.  I really enjoyed the stir fry and especially loved the fusion of the coconut and chilli flavours.  I think this makes a great family meal and will definitely be exploring more of the World Foods range.

You can find the World Foods range stocked in Tescos

Ingredients

1 x 300ml bottle World Foods Malaysian Chilli & Coconut marinade/stir-fry

400ml Coconut Milk

1 300g pack Vegetarian Chicken Pieces

1 red Pepper, sliced

1 yellow Pepper, sliced

1 Onion, peeled and sliced into crescents

200g Mushrooms

1tsp Chilli Flakes

1tsp Cayenne pepper


Method:

1. Heat some oil in a large pan or wok.
2. Fry the chicken pieces for a couple of minutes until soft. 
3. Add a little of the marinade and coconut milk evenly – enough to just cover the chicken pieces and fry for a further 5 minutes.
4. Add the peppers, mushrooms and onions and fry for a further minute, stirring to combine evenly
5. Add the cayenne pepper and chilli flakes, and the rest of the marinade and coconut milk, until the mixture has reached your desired consistency and level of spiciness.   Stir fry for a further 5-6 minutes until the vegetables are cooked but still crispy.

Serve immediately with bread, noodles or rice.