This is one of my favorite recipes because it's cheap, easy, and incredibly tasty. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or legs, if that's all that's available) make a great meal. The skin helps keep the thighs moist, and cooking them on the bone helps with the flavor. The thighs bake in the oven in about an hour while you do other things (like work). A mixture of crispy broccoli, sweet carrots, and snow peas cooks in minutes in the juices and glaze left from the chicken thighs--no extra pan needed, meaning clean-up should be easy. If you'd like something to catch the tasty garlicky-gingery juices, you can start some brown rice cooking when you put the chicken thighs in to bake. The rice will be ready in about 40 minutes--just before you need to check the chicken to see if it's done. Enjoy!
Hoisin-Sesame Chicken Thighs -- Serves 4+
8-10 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (yes, you can substitute chicken legs, if you'd prefer)
1/2 cup of hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons of reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup of orange juice
1 tablespoon of honey
2 teaspoons of minced ginger
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
Crispy Vegetables
2-3 cups of broccoli florets
1/2 cup of thinly sliced carrots
1 - 1 1/2 cups of snow peas
1 teaspoon of sesame seeds
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Coat the foil with non-stick cooking spray. Trim the thighs of excess fat (use kitchen shears to make the job easier) and loosen the skin from the tops of the thighs. In a measuring cup combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, orange juice, honey, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil, mixing them well. Place the chicken, skin-side up on the baking sheet. Spoon about a third of the hoisin mixture over the thighs, spooning some under the skin and on the bottom-side of the thighs. Sprinkle the thighs with 1 tablespoon of the sesame seeds. Bake the thighs for about 50 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees and/or the juices run clear. Spoon a little more glaze on the thighs and heat the broiler. Broil the thighs for just a few minutes, watching them closely so they don't burn, until the tops caramelize a bit. Remove the thighs from the oven, return the oven temperature to 375 degrees, and put the thighs on a plate or dish and tent them with aluminum foil. Add the broccoli to the juices and glaze remaining in the baking sheet and toss/stir the broccoli to coat it with some of the glaze. Place the broccoli in the oven and let it cook for about 5 minutes. It should still be green and crispy. Add the carrots and snow peas to the baking sheet, mixing them with the broccoli. Sprinkle the vegetables with the teaspoon of sesame seeds and put them in the oven for 3-5 minutes or just until the snow peas and carrots have reached the crisp-tender stage. Serve the thighs with some of the vegetable mixture and a little of the remaining sauce.
