Thai Chicken with Hot-Sour-Salty-Sweet Sauce

Rating: 4.5/5 – Tastes much better than it smells!

THE TEST

This month’s recipe test is a bit of a mixed bag, but with good results. 

In any case, this Food & Wine recipe test was the first, official meal that I cooked in the new place, and as a result, I already felt some sort of attachment to it. There was a lot of scurrying around, trying to remember where I put things, hunting through boxes in the basement, opening the same three cupboards at least 5 times, but in the end, I managed to produce this Thai Chicken with Hot-Sour-Salty-Sweet Sauce. 

There were a few moments along the way where I had my doubts. Truly. The marinade smelled awful, and based on all the wacky and unpleasant things I’ve consumed over the years, it takes a lot to make me feel that way. 

Second, F. hates cilantro, and with over 3/4 a cup of the stuff in this recipe, I had visions of the boy going to bed hungry or needing a snack to compensate for his unfinished dinner. While I quite enjoy the flavour of cilantro, I’ve started using cilantro paste in recipes, rather than fresh, as somehow it softens the flavour and disguises it a little more for the haters. Still, with so much of it being used, any attempt to disguise the flavour started to seem a bit ridiculous. 

Third, with 1/4 cup of fish sauce in the dipping sauce, I really wondered if that classic, Southeast Asian  balance of spicy-sour-salty-sweet would be achieved. It seemed overpowering. But in chefs I trust, so I went for it.

THE RESULTS

Given that we sold the BBQ to the people who bought the house, I was a bit out of luck when the recipe called for grilling the chicken prior to roasting it in the oven. I opted instead to sear it in a pan for about 3 minutes on each side and, because I was using chicken breast and not whole legs, I then roasted them for only 20 minutes. They turned out perfectly moist, with tasty charred bits on the edges.

And there I was, snapping some photos of my finished plate, when from the living room (because yes, we’re still eating in one for lack of a clear table to sit at!) I hear: “Oh man, that’s good stuff!”F. liked it – a lot! Maybe my attempts to lure him into my cilantro-loving ways are working, or the paste was blended in well enough, or the other flavours balanced and softened it… or? I really have no idea why, but he loved it. For that reason alone I wanted to give this recipes a million stars.

Cover Recipe