PEANUT SAUCE GLAZED CHICKEN PAN ROAST

with Ginger, Garlic and Sesame

About the Recipe

This recipe for glazed chicken thighs with peanut sauce is a mishmash combination of several recipes I've experimented with over the years. This is (at least currently) my favorite version. It is completely delicious.

You can make the peanut sauce weeks ahead and keep refrigerated. I usually double or triple the recipe as I make these chicken thighs a lot. Once the sauce is made, the recipe takes 15 minutes or less of active work time.

I serve this dish with rice or sesame noodles or even simple wholewheat couscous (not the traditional accompaniment and mixing cuisines but delicious and easy).

If you have some time, make Vietnamese Summer Rolls (last month's RECIPE OF THE MONTH) for a first course.

A good and easy dessert is an assortment of tropical flavored ice creams (Haagan Daz makes delicious MANGO and COCONUT-PINEAPPLE ice creams) and sorbets and a platter of tropical fruits--I usually slice up mango, pineapple and banana.

Enjoy.

Peanut Sauce Glazed Chicken Pan Roast with Ginger, Garlic and Sesame

Yields 8-10 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 teaspoons kosher salt plus more as needed
4 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
8 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
5-6 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 recipe Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce (see below)
2 tablespoons neutral oil
4 scallions, thinly sliced and ¼ cup cilantro chopped for garnish

Method

Mix together sesame oil, salt, ginger and garlic. Add 4 tablespoons of the peanut dipping sauce and smear mixture all over the chicken and underneath the skin. Use it all. Place in a lidded container or large ziplock bag and refrigerate at least an hour and up to 48 hours. 2-3 hours before baking, remove chicken from refrigerator and place on a rimmed baking sheet. You can line the baking sheet with parchment to make clean-up easier, but it’s not necessary.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle chicken with the neutral oil. Roast until the chicken is golden brown and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pricked with a fork, 30 to 40 minutes or less and about 158 on a thermometer. Can broil briefly to crisp up if needed.
Transfer chicken to a serving platter and carefully pour any pan juices on the baking sheet into the bowl with the peanut sauce. Whisk until combined. Taste the sauce and add more soy sauce, vinegar or hoisin if you’d like.
Drizzle or brush some of the peanut sauce all over chicken pieces, reserving some sauce for serving. Garnish with scallions and cilantro and serve with reserved peanut sauce.