If you thought authentic Chinese Food was either bland (Cantonese/American) or too spicy (Szech-uan/Hunan), you’ve missed out on a huge slice of the cuisine! Today we bring you another simple recipe that captures the essence of Asia!
Chicken is perhaps the most-used animal protein in Asia. But pork gives it a run for its money! So it’s fitting that today’s dish features chicken as a canvas on which to paint classic Chinese flavours…
Simple but exotic…
The sauce is the thing, in this streamlined, easy-prep dinner. It calls for just a few ingredients, but captures the exotic, bold flavours of Asia without overwhelming salt or spice!
What you need
- 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
- 3 tablespoons chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
What you do
Arrange the chicken pieces so they’re not touching, in a 9 in x 13 in / 22.5 cm x 32.5 cm casserole dish.
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Combine the onion, soy sauce, honey, ginger, and garlic in a small bowl, and spoon the mixture over the chicken pieces.
Cover the dish and refrigerate, to marinate for 1 hour, turning the chicken once.Chicken should now be skin-side down.
Bake at 425 F for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces (which should then be skin-side up) and garn-ish with the chopped scallions.
Bake for another 10 to 15 min. – until the thickest pieces of chicken are no longer pink in the middle, and the internal temp reads 165 F or higher.
Serve over rice. If you’re not serving side veggies, try a simple tossed salad as an accompaniment.
Tips and hacks…
You can use all-thighs for this dish, You’ll get even more flavour and a deep, abiding umami note to complement the ginger and honey top notes.
The recipe doesn’t call for any salt, But that’s because the soy sauce delivers all the salt you need.
You can add classic Asian veggies to the baking dish to round out the meal. Red or green bell pep-pers, thin-sliced carrots, mushrooms and/or bok choi are traditional.
Use the 40 minutes the chicken is baking to get the rice going. And sit down with a glass of wine until it’s time to serve…
My take
Ginger and Honey are one of my fave Asian flavour combos. As one commenter to the recipe sug-gested, a squeeze or two of lemon would not be out of place, to balance the sweetness of the honey…
~ Maggie J.