Tamarind-Glazed Chicken Thighs
Tamarind paste and fresh orange juice create a lively, sweet/sour, caramelly, smoky glaze for roasted chicken thighs. Adapted from The New York Times.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 pounds total)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (or fresh ginger paste in a tube)
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 cup orange juice, squeezed from fresh oranges, if possible
- zest of an orange (if using fresh oranges)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1+ tablespoon tamarind paste (see Kitchen Notes)
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- some fresh mint leaves, torn
- cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. While oven is heating, pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and season generously with salt and black pepper.
- Heat olive oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat and add thighs skin side down. Cook until nicely browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Reserve a generous tablespoon of fat from the skillet. Turn the chicken thighs skin side up and transfer skillet to the oven. Reduce oven heat to 375ºF and roast chicken for 20 minutes.
- While the chicken roasts, make the glaze. Heat the reserved chicken fat to a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. Add the ginger, crushed red pepper and 1/2 cup of water, bring to a gentle boil and reduce the heat to medium.
- Scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the orange juice, honey and tamarind, and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until glossy and reduced. As it simmers, taste to see if it needs more tamarind—add just a little at a time until you get the right balance of sour and sweet.
- Pour the glaze over the chicken and return to the oven to roast for an additional 12 to 15 minutes, until the skin is caramelized and the sauce is slightly thickened.
- Serve with rice and garnish with the orange zest (if using), scallions and mint.
Kitchen Notes
How much tamarind paste? Again, per The Spruce Eats, the thickness and strength of tamarind paste vary widely depending on which brand you use. Start with a tablespoon when making the glaze and add more as needed to get the sour/sweet balance you like. We used about 1-1/2 tablespoons of our brand.
Liz’s Crockery Corner. This charming, bird-covered antique platter has seen plenty of action here at Blue Kitchen. Marion covered its fascinating story in the Kitchen Notes of this post.
Liz’s Crockery Corner. This charming, bird-covered antique platter has seen plenty of action here at Blue Kitchen. Marion covered its fascinating story in the Kitchen Notes of this post.