Honey-and-Soy-Glazed Chicken Thighs

Simplified from a NYT recipe by Kay Chun.   I used boneless skinless thighs and I eliminated added salt (the soy sauce is plenty salty).  

This is a simple weeknight recipe.  I made it tonight and we loved it.  There is enough left over for lunch tomorrow.   

2 T oil 

1 T minced garlic 

1-2 T minced fresh ginger

6 T low-sodium soy sauce 

5 T mild honey (I used orange blossom honey) 

3 T butter

ground pepper 

1 package (6-8) boneless skinless chicken thighs 

1.  Preheat oven to 375. 

2.  While oven preheats, get the rice cooker going, and make the sauce:  in small saucepan, heat the oil; add the ginger and garlic and stir for a few minutes to soften.  Add soy sauce and honey (I measure casually).   Stir, simmer until it's a little bit reduced and thickened.   Turn off heat and whisk in the butter.  Add some ground pepper. 

3.  Place the thighs in an even layer, in a 9x13 pyrex dish, or similar.   RESERVE about 1/3 C of the sauce.  Pour remaining sauce over the chicken.  Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes.  Baste once or twice.  If you are using a lot of thighs and keep them sort of rolled up, you will need more cooking time. 

4.  Serve thighs over white rice, with a drizzling of the RESERVED sauce.   YUM 

Recipe suggests serving with lemon wedges.  This is a neat idea, especially if broccoli is your side vege. 

 

Chicken Marbella from Janette

Chicken Marbella  

Janette made this for me last night, on my first night in North Carolina.  It is one of their family favorites and it is SO GOOD, packed with interesting flavors and very pretty.   She served it over orzo, and with asparagus.  I think it would work great with chicken thighs too.  Janette says leftovers freeze very well! 

note:  this looks to be a recipe that was made popular with the Silver Palate Cookbook in the 80's.   I made it this week with chicken thighs, and half apricots half prunes.  A really easy delicious beautiful recipe.  6/22 CN 

chicken pieces - cut several breasts into 3 pieces each - or use thighs (my preference)

Marinade: 

12 oz prunes, chopped into bite sized pieces  (or partly dried apricots - so pretty) 

1-3 T capers 

2 T dried oregano

3-6  Bay leaves, can be in pieces 

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 C pimento stuffed olives

1/2 C red wine vinegar

1/2 C olive oil 

1 T sea salt (less or skip) 

2 tsp ground pepper 

Combine ingredients and marinate with chicken pieces overnight or all day. 

Place all into 9x13" pan. 

Sprinkle each piece of chicken with a little of the sugar and then sprinkle the wine over the whole dish: 

about 1/2 C brown sugar

about 1/2 C dry white wine. 

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees 50-60 min. 

 

Soy-Glazed Chicken Breast "Good chicken and pickles"

Pan Steamed Soy-Glazed Chicken Breast 
and Pickled Cucumbers 

This is such a yummy dinner - from the NYT Cooking, Dawn Perry.  We added a bit of sugar to the cucumbers.  We made the full amount of sauce, but just two (large) chicken breasts.  Do not skip the cucumbers - they are an amazing complement to the sweet/savory chicken.

4 servings, 30 min

Watch the chicken - adjust temp and time.  The sauce reduces at the end.  Add a little water if you need to.  You want a couple teaspoons of sauce to drizzle on each serving.


PICKLED CUCUMBERS - make first - mix these in a bowl and let sit while chicken cooks: 

1 English cucumber (2 Japanese cucumbers), peeled (optional) and thinly sliced 

1 shallot, peeled, halved, and very thinly sliced lengthwise. 

1/4 C rice vinegar

1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar 

CHICKEN: 

1/4 good soy sauce 
2 T honey or maple syrup 
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
olive oil or vege oil 
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed  
1 tsp coriander seeds, roughly smashed 
Garnish:  fresh cilantro leaves 

1.  In a shallow dish, combine shoyu and honey.  Add chicken and turn to coat. 
2.  Heat skillet oil in large skillet over medium high heat.  Add garlic and coriander and stir to coat.  add chicken (reserve the marinade) and brown, about 3 minutes per side (lower heat if necessary - browning happens fast).  Add reserved marinade and 1/4 C water to the skillet.  Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and simmer on low, covered, until chicken is cooked through, 4-5 min per side (ours needed more time).  

3.  Uncover skillet, increase heat to medium high and cook for a minute or two, turning chicken a couple times, to reduce the sauce and glaze the chicken.  Remove chicken and slice.  

4.  Serve with white rice, any leftover glaze, the cucumber salad and cilantro.  We added miso soup.  YUM. 

Leftovers idea:  NYT suggests it would also be tasty wrapped in tortillas instead of with rice.