Ingredients

The following ingredients have 3 Servings
  • 1 Tablespoon coconut oil or vegetable oil (or other cooking oil)
  • 8 cloves garlic (lightly smashed)
  • 1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns (or about 1/2 teaspoon black pepper)
  • Pinch red chili pepper flakes
  • 5-6 bone-in/skin-on chicken thighs (or See Note 1 below for other options)
  • 1/3 cup coconut vinegar (white vinegar, unseasoned rice vinegar or cider vinegar *See Note 2 below)
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce (low sodium highly recommended *See Note 3 below)
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 2/3 cup coconut milk ((small 160ml/5.5oz can))
  • 5 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
  • 1 cup basmati or long grain rice
  • 2 cups water
  • Juice and zest of 1/2 lime
  • 1/4-1/3 cup chopped cilantro
  • Chopped green onion (scallions)
  • Lime wedges (for drizzling)

Instruction

  • Pat chicken dry, but do not salt! Heat oil in a large skillet, pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then add chicken, skin-side down and cook until golden. Flip and brown the other side. Remove the browned chicken to a plate.
  • Meanwhile, in a medium bowl or large measuring cup, stir together the vinegar, soy sauce, water and coconut milk and set aside.
  • If you have excess fat in the pan, you can spoon off and discard all but 1 Tablespoon of it. Reduce heat under pan to medium heat. Add the garlic cloves, crushed peppercorns and red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook briefly, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant. Be sure not to burn the garlic, as it will introduce a bitter flavour to the dish.
  • Add the coconut milk mixture to the pan and stir until coconut milk melts. Bring to a boil. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and tuck the bay leaves in between the chicken. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover the pan (leaving about 1/3 open) and allow to gently simmer for 30 minutes. *If your skillet doesn't have a lid, simply lay a piece of foil over the top, leaving it about 1/3 uncovered.
  • *If making the Cilantro Lime rice, cook the rice with the water in a covered saucepan or rice cooker. Remove to a bowl and add lime zest, lime juice and cilantro. Stir together and serve warm.
  • After 30 minutes, remove the lid or cover completely and continue simmering and additional 15-20 minutes, flipping the chicken a couple of times. Cook until the liquid is reduced and slightly thickened. Don't reduce the sauce too much tough, as it will split at some point and be greasy. Stop cooking when there is still a good amount of sauce in the pan. If it is not quite as thick as you'd like, you can mix equal parts cornstarch and cold water together into a paste and add a bit at a time to the pan use it to thicken the sauce, as desired.
  • Remove from heat and remove and discard the bay leaves. Serve over rice, garlic rice or the optional Cilantro Lime Rice.