Bake bag dinners for one: Five spice chicken

Instructions

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1 To make the foil bag, fold the foil in half width-wise with the non-shiny side on the outside. Fold in half again, then fold the edges over twice to approximately 1/2 cm, repeat on the other side creating crisp double-folded edges on both sides. You should now have a two-ply envelope.

2 Spray the inside of the bag lightly with cooking spray then measure in the rice. Add the carrot and the skinned chicken drumsticks. In a small bowl combine the garlic, water, stock, hoisin sauce, ginger and Chinese five spice, mix and pour into the bag.

3 Fold the top over twice to make a sealed rectangular parcel. Place on a baking tray and bake for 40 minutes. To serve, split the parcel with a knife and tip the contents onto a warmed plate.

Variations

There are numerous variations to this technique. Try these then create your own; you will need around 1/3 of a cup of liquid such as tomatoes, stock, wine, lite evaporated milk or coconut cream. You can include other vegetables but greens tend to over-cook, so I usually cook them separately as steaming only takes a few minutes.

To the rice, chicken and carrot, add:
Thai red curry paste 3/4 tablespoon
1/3 cup coconut cream
1/4 cup water
1 pinch sugar
or
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 rasher bacon, fat removed and chopped
1 pinch thyme
1/3 cup water

For a lamb and ginger bag:
Substitute chicken with a lamb patty (the frozen pre-formed medallions are fine for this, loads of flavour and very tender)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon grated ginger
1 pinch Chinese five spice
1/3 cup beef stock