West African-Style Chicken Skewers With Coconut Fried Rice

Take your chicken out of the fridge, open the packet and let it air, then soak your skewers in water (this prevents them from burning whilst cooking)

Chop your creamed coconut roughly (if required!)

Add your white long grain rice, chopped creamed coconut, half your chicken stock mix (save the rest for later!) and 225ml [300ml] [450ml] cold water to a pot with a lid and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to very low and cook, covered, for 12-15 min or until all the water has absorbed and the rice is cooked

Once cooked, remove from the heat and transfer to a clean plate to cool – this is your coconut rice

Reserve the pot and heat the grill to medium-high

Add your roasted peanuts, ground smoked paprika, cayenne pepper (can't handle the heat? Go easy!), half your crispy onions (save the rest for garnish), ginger & garlic paste and remaining chicken stock mix to a food processor

Add a generous drizzle of vegetable oil with 1 tbsp [1 1/2 tbsp] [2 tbsp] cold water and blitz until a paste forms – this is your marinade

Chop your chicken thighs into small bite-sized pieces and season with a pinch of salt

Add the chopped chicken and suya-style marinade to a large bowl and give everything a good mix up until the chicken is fully coated

Thread the marinated chicken onto the soaked skewers and add to a tin foil-lined baking tray (or two!) – these are your marinated chicken skewers

Put the marinated chicken skewers under the grill for 9-10 min on each side or until charred and cooked through (no pink meat!) – these are your West African-style chicken skewers

When the skewers are halfway through cooking, return the reserved pot to a medium-high heat with a drizzle of vegetable oil

Once hot, add the cooled coconut rice, your curry powder and blanched peas with a pinch of salt and cook for 3-4 min until everything is combined – this is your coconut fried rice