Cooking Chicken It’s Not All About The Breast
Published by Carolin on Tagged Chicken, Dinner
Cooking chicken, how should I cook it? I hear that a lot. I am a huge chicken fan and I bet I cook chicken probably 2-3 times a week. Now that doesn’t mean to say when I am cooking chicken that it is the same boring dishes. Chicken to me is so unbelievable versatile. There are not to many cultures if any that do not eat chicken. You can literally salt it and brown it in some olive oil then cook it off in the oven and you have a great piece of chicken to eat right away or to shred up for chicken salad. Maybe for some chicken chili.
The only issue I have with our culture being North American and their relationship with chicken is that everyone is so worried about the fat content of food that they only want to eat the breast of the chicken. Now don’t get me wrong I do enjoy the breast of the chicken, but there are other parts as well. One of those parts is the thigh. I think the chicken thigh is so underrated. I don’t know how many people say, “Oh I don’t like dark meat” or “There is way more fat on the thigh”. Well let me tell all you chicken lovers. There is so much more flavor in a chicken thigh over the chicken breast. Why you may ask, partly because of the fat. To cut down on the fat remove the skin. Nine out of ten times I remove the skin when I am cooking chicken. I usually only leave it on if the end result is going to be crispy (i.e. fried) and who can resist that.
One of my favorite way s to cook chicken thighs is with a peanut sauce. I love peanut sauce and I have to thank Thai cooking for peanut sauce. I remember the first time I tasted Thai cooking and my dish had peanut sauce for dipping I was in heaven. Now the recipe I am about to share with you is not considered Thai. But one of the main ingredients is peanut sauce. Another ingredient in this recipe is salsa. I know you think I have lost it. Believe me I thought I had lost it to. But when I tasted this dish almost 20 years ago I was blown away. So trust me on this one. This dish is a great dish just for your family or for a crowd. I have never served this dish without people wanting more.
Peanut Sauce Chicken
10 -12 skinless chicken thighs
1 bottle peanut sauce 350ml or 12oz I prefer President Choice (I believe you can only get this brand in Canada)
Olive oil
¾ salsa (I use a medium)
¼ cream (you can use half and half)
Juice of one lemon
Preheat oven to 350°
Heat a heavy deep skillet to medium high. Coat with olive oil. Brown chicken thighs on both sides. Pour in bottle of peanut sauce. Cover and bake in oven for about 45 minutes.
Remove pan from oven, place on a medium heat burner. Remove chicken. Add salsa, stir and let cook for a minute. Add cream blend in. Turn off heat add lemon and chicken.
Serve over basmati or jasmine rice. Your tummy will be happy.
TIP OF THE DAY
If you are using half and half cream do not bring up to a boil, it has a good chance of separating. Heavy cream won’t seperate.
Leave a Comment