WP. One of my favorite ways of cooking chicken is baking chicken thighs in some kind of sauce for a relatively long time and then serving it over rice; tthe meat ends up falling off the bone and the rice absorbs the sauce. This recipe specifies drumsticks but thighs could certainly be an alternative.
Ingredients
1/4 cup peanut butter, preferably chunky
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon minced or finely grated garlic
1/2 tablespoon minced or finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 chicken drumsticks (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
Freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup chopped scallions, for serving (optional)
Cooked white rice or egg noodles, for serving
Instructions
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, water, lemon juice, soy sauce, dark brown sugar, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and salt until the mixture is well combined.
2. Put the drumsticks in a glass or ceramic bowl or resealable container, and cover with the peanut sauce, making sure the marinade thoroughly coats the chicken. Cover the bowl with a large plate, or seal the container, and let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to overnight.
3. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.
4. Line a 1 1/2-quart baking dish (headnote says it’s important for the chicken to fit snugly in the baking dish to keep it moist) with a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper large enough to go up the sides, trimming off excess. Set aside. (You can bake the chicken directly in the pan, but this step makes clean-up considerably easier.)
5. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and transfer it, along with the marinade, to the prepared baking dish. Season the chicken with the black pepper. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees.
6. Transfer the chicken to a serving plate, spooning the peanut sauce and cooked bits over the drumsticks. Sprinkle with the scallions, if desired.
7. Serve with white rice or egg noodles, either of which benefit from spoonfuls of the remaining peanut sauce.