MIONDAY RECIPE POST - SPICY CHILI CRISP CHICKEN THIGHS

As we are thoroughly enjoying anything with Chili Crisp right now, we decided to make a recipe found at Kitchn.  The actual link is here.

Spicy Chili Crisp Chicken Thighs

Servings: 4 to 6

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

1/4 cup Chili Crisp (see substitution below recipe, also a recipe if you would like to make it and can't find store-bought)

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 medium red onion

2 large broccoli crowns (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (4 to 6). (I actually used skinless, boneless chicken thighs for me as that is what I had in the fridge.)

Sliced scallions, Thai basil or chopped fresh cilantro, for serving (optional)

Rice cooked to package directions, for serving (optional)

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place 1/4 cup Garlic Chili Crisp, 1/4 cup of the olive oil, 1/4 cup honey, and 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

Halve and peel 1 medium red onion. Cut into 1/4-inch thick slices through the root end. 

Cut 2 large broccoli crowns into 1-inch florets. 

Place the onion and broccoli on the baking sheet. 

Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt, toss to combine, and spread into an even layer.

Debone 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs: Arrange each chicken thigh so it is skin-side down. Using kitchen shears, cut through the meat along both sides of the center bone, making sure not to cut all the way through the meat and skin. Cut off the cartilage at the top and bottom of the bone. Cut underneath the bone, which will cut the bone off completely from the thigh. Use the shears to trim off any excess fat, cartilage, or skin.

Season the chicken with the remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Place the chicken on the vegetables skin-side up. 

Roast until the chicken skin is golden and crisp, about 25 minutes.

Baste the chicken pieces with about 2/3 of the sauce. 

Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are caramelized, about 10 minutes more. 

Sprinkle with sliced scallions, Thai basil or chopped cilantro if desired. Serve with rice and more sauce if desired.

The Kitchn's Notes:

Deboning chicken thighs: Deboning chicken thighs is the best way to get deliciously crisp chicken that you can cut into with a fork. Feel free to start with skin-on, boneless thighs if you can find them, or use bone-in thighs and roast them for an additional 5 minutes in the oven.

Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 4 days.

Our notes:

This was delicious and it fills the house with the most wonderful aroma.  

Although this recipe uses the word "Spicy", I didn't find it too hot at all.  I am very wary of too much.  The word "spicy" in this case, for us at least, just makes for the most delicious flavor. You can use less to be sure. 

We had skinless, boneless chicken thighs and not the ones described in the list of original ingredients.  Consequently did not have to debone them. I left this step in just in case you do.   

Our oven runs on the cooler side than most recipes we use, and we always end up cooking for longer than they say.  You may need to adjust your own cooking times.  We added on 10 minutes.

We used Jasmine Rice, our go-to favorite.

I love roasting vegetables and our broccoli in particular was toasty as you will see in my photo, and very yummy.  However, you might want to adjust this for your own taste.  

We also cut our onion into larger pieces.

On the side we added sections of the tomato we bought from the farmer's market the other day.  For such big tomatoes, they were the tastiest, and also added a nice bit of color to the meal.

If you can't find chili crisp you can substitute chiles de arbol or other small dried hot red chiles instead.  You can also substitute 1/4 cup crushed red chile flakes, or follow the recipe the Kitchn  supplied.  

We bought our chili crisp at our local supermarket in the Asian cuisine section, hopefully you can too if you decide to make this dish.  The picture below shows the brand we like.

Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp 7.41 oz. (210g)

You will most likely be able to get this from an Asian Supermarket.  Failing that you can order on line at Amazon here.  This is the only one we have ever bought, but you may see a different brand where you are.

Kitchn's recipe for Chili Crisp.

Peel and thinly slice 2 heads of garlic (about 1/2 cup garlic slices).  Place the garlic and 1 cup canola oil in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the garlic is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.  Darkly browned garlic will taste bitter, so keep an eye on the mixture as it cooks.  

Meanwhile, prepare the ginger mixture.

Peel and grate a 1-inch piece of gingeer (about 1 tablespoon grated ginger), then place in a large bowl.  Add 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

When the garlic oil is ready, pour it through a fine-mesh strainer into the bowl of ginger and stir to combine.  Let the oil mixture and the garlic in the strainer cool separately to room temperature (this makes for crisper garlic flakes).  Once cooled, stir the garlic into the oil mixture.  You can look at the recipe at this link.

The above comes with a Butter-baked Saltine Cracker recipe.  The chili crisp is mixed into Greek yogurt for the dip.  I am going to have to try it sometime.  Also looks wonderful!  

We have leftovers.

Adding the actual links below.

Spicy Chili Crisp Chicken Thigh recipe:

Spicy Chili Crisp Chicken Thighs | Kitchn (thekitchn.com)

Chili Crisp recipe:

https://www.thekitchn.com/butter-baked-saltines-22955981

We both enjoyed this meal very much, a definite keeper.

Thanks for looking, my thanks to The Kitchn.  I hope everyone's week is a great one.