Oriental Surf and Turf - Chicken and Shrimp with Cubed Potatoes

I realise that I hardly have any chicken recipes, so going into this weekend, I was pretty determined to create a chicken dish.

And, I have also been quite let down by a number of surf n turf dishes when eating out, which is usually a lackluster steak and seafood combo.

Pauline has also been wanting to eat healthy and been very weight conscious recently, so my final product was a consideration of all of the above factors.

To prepare the cubed potatoes, diced some potatoes and saute them in a pan. Let them cook until they are nicely caramelised. Add in some butter to enrich the flavors and sprinkle some seasoning (salt and pepper). When they are about right, add in some thyme for the perfume and color.

Tip: Whenever you are using herbs like thyme or basil, it is always best to break the herbs at the point you want to use them, for when you break the herbs, it is at this point that the perfume and aroma is the strongest.

Prepare a mirepoix of onions, celery, carrots and leek. Saute the ingredients until the flavors emerge and add a dash of white wine and let the alcohol burn up. Add in sufficient chicken stock until the vegetables are fully covered.

Peel the shrimp shells and add in the shells and tails into the mirepoix mix and bring the mixture to a boil, after which let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Season the shrimps with pepper, salt and thyme (or tarragon). Set aside.

Season some chicken thighs with sesame oil, soy sauce and chinese wine and let it marinate for at least an hour. Heat up a pan with some oil and fry some diced garlic. Put in the chicken skin side down first and let it cook for at least 2 and a half minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat.

Flip the chicken thighs over and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Add in a lemon's worth of lemon juice. Once the chicken is cooked, set aside and let it rest for at least 5 mins.

Strain the mirepoix mixture and add in a knob of butter and some flour to thicken the sauce. Add some ginger also to give that taste of the orient.

In another pan, melt a knob of butter and add in some more garlic and ginger. Once the butter is melted, fry the shrimp for about a min or so each side and remove from the heat.

To plate, place the potato cubes first, followed by the chicken thigh and the shrimp right on top. Sauce the mirepoix mixture around the plate.

The final plate should be both visually appealing and a nice and refreshingly light alternative to your usual surf and turf.