Campervan Mango Chilli Chicken — with Moruno Tomatoes and Caperones

On a recent trip to Almería province with family, I spent an evening at a gourmet tapas bar. Two dishes caught my eye — mango chilli chicken, and new potatoes with the ends cut off and stuffed with spicy tomato sauce, a clever take on patatas bravas. I filed both away.

On the way home I stopped at Alcalá la Real. Alcalá Campers is a well-equipped site with all amenities and a reasonable pitch fee — and Lidl is virtually next door, which makes it an almost perfect vanlife combination. I picked up everything I needed for this mango chilli chicken, though in the end I was so keen to get home that I cooked it at Casa Adora rather than on the van.

It works perfectly as a van cook, though. The chicken and sauce need nothing more than a frying pan. Next time, Alcalá Campers.

Why Mango Chilli Chicken Works

The marinade does the heavy lifting — soy, rice vinegar, honey, lime, garlic, ginger and chilli give you sweet, sour, salty and hot in a single bowl. The mango goes in at the sauce stage, some of it softening into the liquid while the rest stays as chunks. The result is sticky, bold and genuinely interesting.

The side is barely a recipe. Moruno tomatoes — the local Almería variety, with firm flesh and a richly coloured, almost winey interior — cut into wedges, dressed with aceite verde, a few caperones and a splash of white wine vinegar. The acidity does exactly what it should alongside the sweet heat of the chicken.

The Moruno Tomato Side — Simple and Seasonal

Moruno tomatoes are worth seeking out if you're in southeast Spain in late summer. Firm enough that they don't collapse, with a depth of flavour that supermarket tomatoes can't touch. If you can't find Moruno, any good flavoursome tomato works — the dressing is the thing.

Caperones are caper berries rather than capers — larger, with a longer stalk, milder and fruitier. A small handful is enough. Aceite verde is the local cold-press olive oil, green-gold and grassy. Use your best oil here.

How to Make Mango Chilli Chicken

Marinade

Mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, lime juice, garlic, ginger, chilli, cumin and smoked paprika in a bowl. Add the chicken breast and turn it several times to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 2–4 hours. Take the chicken out of the fridge about 20–30 minutes before cooking.

Cooking the Chicken

Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving the liquid. Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken breast well on both sides, then reduce the heat and cook through completely. Transfer to a plate and rest.

The Mango Chilli Sauce

Add the sliced spring onion to the same pan and cook for about a minute. Pour in the reserved marinade and bring to a vigorous simmer. Cook for 2–3 minutes. Add the mango and cook for another 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally — some should soften into the sauce while some stays as chunks. Return the chicken to the pan and turn it through the sticky sauce.

Dressing the Tomatoes

Arrange the tomato wedges on the plate with the caperones scattered over. Drizzle generously with aceite verde and add a splash of white wine vinegar. Season with sea salt.

Serving Your Mango Chilli Chicken

Sit the chicken alongside the tomatoes, spoon over the sticky mango, chilli and spring onion sauce and finish with the green tops of the spring onion and fresh coriander if liked. The sweet heat of the chicken against the cool, acidic tomatoes and the briny pop of the caperones is what makes the dish.

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken

• 1 chicken breast, about 180–200g
• 1 large Spanish spring onion, finely sliced
• ½ ripe mango, cut into small chunks
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• Black pepper
• Fresh coriander, to finish, if liked

For the tomato and caperones side

• 2 Moruno tomatoes, cut into wedges
• A small handful of caperones
• A generous drizzle of aceite verde
• A splash of white wine vinegar
• Sea salt

FOOTNOTE

This mango chilli chicken recipe is part of my Chicken Recipes hub and my Campervan Cooking hub — a growing collection of recipes cooked on the road or inspired by it.

Find more recipes and food adventures here.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef