Sticky Coconut Chicken

From the first time I made this recipe it was a hit with everyone who had it.  I’ve made some changes, and suggest tweaking the recipe to your tastes. When I make this for young kids, I reduce, or altogether omit the red peppers flakes so it’s not too spicy. If you want an easy make ahead dinner, throw the frozen thighs into a gallon Ziploc bags and make the marinade right into the bag.  The chicken thaws and marinates at the same time.  I’ve also got this ready to go in the Ziploc and brought it to the beach, or even camping! Easy AND yummy.

6-8 boned, skinned chicken thighs (approx 1-1 ½ lbs)

¾ c. canned coconut milk

1 Tbsp. Minced fresh ginger

1 tsp. Fresh ground pepper

1 tsp. red pepper chili flakes

1 Tbsp. Sesame Seeds, toasted

4-5 green onions, sliced on the diagonal

Rinse chicken and pat dry.  In a bowl, or large Ziploc bag, mix coconut milk and spices with chicken.  Marinate 1 hour, or up to 1 day.

Lift chicken from marinade, reserve liquid.  Barbecue thighs over greased grill over high heat, both sides, until cooked through.  Serve drizzled with glaze, green onions and sesame seeds.

Chili Glaze:

¾ c. rice vinegar

½ c. sugar

3-Tbsp. Soy sauce

1 tsp. Chili pepper flakes

Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until mixture is reduced to a ½ cup, about 5-8 minutes.  Stir constantly or it will burn.

Drizzle the glaze over the chicken, and serve the extra for the steamed rice!  Yum!

Side Dish Inspirations

I’m sure you can think of a million things to serve this with, but here are some ideas if you are feeling low on inspiration today:

• Steamed sticky Rice
• Yakisoba noodles
• Cabbage Salad

Round Two cooking… make more and use it for:

If you plan it right, you could make a double batch to have enough leftover to make any of the following for another meal.  You could even slice up the leftovers and freeze them if you wanted!  Here’s some ideas:

• Chicken Fried Rice
• Chinese chicken salad
• Chinese chicken wraps (tortillas, cabbage, chicken, cilantro, shredded veggies, cellophane noodles).

What else would this technique work on???

While I think you can use this technique on chicken breasts or tenderloins, I do think the moist chicken thighs are the best. Try others if you prefer them, or if they are the ones you seem to have on hand!  I have not tried this technique with Pork tenderloin, but I do think it could be very good!  Let me know if you try it.

(adapted from Sunset Magazine June 2001)