C and I can sometimes be like Mr. and Mrs. Sprat when it comes to eating. C likes leaner cuts while I adore the fattier morsels. C hardly ventures past tomato-based pasta while I love olive oil based ones. I look forward to a good French toast or yogurt for breakfast while C prefers a more Filipino-style, rice and meat/fish dish for his morning meal. C does not really have a sweet tooth to speak of, and when he does he favors fruit filled desserts…while I am a solid chocolate girl.
That being said, we also have a great deal in common food-wise. We love to experiment and try new dishes and ingredients. We love the gastronomic paradise that is Asian cuisine. We both agree that food is an essential part of travel. We both don’t fancy junk food too much. We love eating at home. You know, the important stuff.
And, also very important (at least in my book), we both love spicy food. Our crisper is home to 2-3 different types of fresh chilies at any given point in time. Our pantry is stocked with dried chilies, chili flakes, and various hot sauces and chili pastes. Sriracha is one of our current favorites. It is incredibly versatile. It can be used as a condiment, say in a Vietnamese soup, as a dipping sauce, or even to top a burger. It also works beautifully in marinades or rubs.
Sriracha Chicken Thigh Fillets
- 3-4 tablespoons sriracha (depends how much heat you like)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons pineapple or mango jam (I used pineapple-mango jam…yum!)
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
- 1 1/2 tablespoon chopped green onion
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- Salt, to taste
- 6 chicken thigh fillets
- Canola oil for pan-frying
– Mix all the ingredients, except for the salt and pepper, in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt if needed.
– Pound your chicken fillets with a meat mallet (I do this in between 2 pieces of cling wrap to avoid bacterial chicken goo from splattering all over my kitchen) until they are of uniform thickness.
– Take a third of the marinade and pour this over your chicken pieces. Place in the fridge and let the chicken lay in its spicy bath for an hour or two.
– Heat a few glugs of canola oil on a non-stick skillet. When the oil is hot, pan-fry the chicken until they are cooked and have acquired some nice caramelization around the edges, turning once.
– Placed the cooked chicken on a chopping board and slice into strips. Lay on a bed of steaming white rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds (some chopped green onions would be good too but I didn’t have any!).
You can use chicken breast fillets but can I just try to convince you to thighs? They are really so much tastier and come out so much juicier…and are a bit more forgiving when you’ve erred on the side of overcooking. I love them so! But if you cannot abide by dark meat then go ahead and use breast fillets…we’ll still be friends 🙂
This recipe makes about 2-3 portions of marinade, depending on how you use it. Stash the rest in the freezer for future use…you won’t regret it! For another meal, I used roughly 1/3 of the marinade on 3 pieces of chicken marylands (the leg and thigh together) which I then baked. You can also use it on chicken wings, which is I think is the most popular, or any other kind of chicken pieces you prefer. I’m thinking you could even try it on a whole roast chicken, basting with the extra marinade as it cooks. Or on a spatchcocked chicken on the grill (basting with extra marinade as well) if you are lucky enough to have a nice outdoor grilling space. I’m also itching to try it on some pork ribs! So you see, really versatile. If you’ve got some sitting smugly in your freezer, dinner will just be a matter of thawing and cooking.
This recipe is cobbled together based on several I found online. You can even learn to make your own sriracha here.
I’m thankful C shares my love for spice. I always have someone with whom to get goofily excited when finding new spicy sauces and I never have to temper the heat when I am cooking for the two of us (as I often have to do when we are cooking for company). So it’s easy to forgive when he is not to enthused about things like this or that 😉Happy weekend everyone! And if you are Filipino happy independence day tomorrow! 🙂***Thank you M for my Moomin chopsticks! I love them! 🙂
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
Mmmhhh, a yummy dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
Ling says
All hail Sriracha and fattier morsels! Fattier morsels are conveyances for Sriracha!! 😀
Ling xxx
(funny – the hubby's a white meat and tomato-sauce pasta man too… :p)
The French says
I love Sriracha! This recipe sounds delicious:)
WizzyTheStick says
nyom. spicy = yummy in my books
joey says
Hi Rose! It was 🙂
Hi Ling! We do have a lot it common! 😉
Hi The French! Isn’t such a great condiment to have? 🙂 Love it!
Hi Wizzy! Me too…go spicy!
George says
That looks so good.
Cookin' Canuck says
Sriracha is a "must" in my pantry, too. I'll bet the pineapple/mango jam lends a lovely sticky-sweet taste and texture to these chicken thighs. Very nice!
Megan Carroll says
That looks great… Bring on the spicier foods.
Trissa says
I've only recently discovered the joys of sriracha but have only used it as a condiment. I'll definitely be trying your chicken soon Jo – it sounds yummy.
joey says
Thanks George 🙂
Hi Cookin’ Canuck! I like it with the jam – one of the recipes I found used apricot jam but pineapple and mango are much more available here 🙂
Hi Megan! Yeah!
Hi Trissa! You can use it in a ton of things…hope you like it!
veron says
Yum! Joey that looks fantaaastic!
The Purple Foodie says
I so want a bottle of sriracha! now let me see which friend of mine is coming down..
Gattina says
I haven't ever seen any chicken prepare such a beautiful way Jo!!!
Midge says
That looks gloriously, deliciously incendiary, Joey!
(Just out of curiosity, would guava jelly be a reasonably sub for the pineapple/mango jam?)
Pille says
Oh nooooo, I want Moomin chopsticks, too! They don't sell them in Finland, I'm afraid (need to look more closer next time I'm there:))
Never heard of Sriracha sauce before, but the chicken dish looks very attractive. May have to try with a more regular hot sauce perhaps..
sherry says
i love the recipe, but will have to cool it down for my kids.. great chicken idea with thighs instead if breasts… thanks for sharing
Anh says
Sriracha, yum! I know this would taste very good
Ash says
This looks amazing!!
joey says
Thanks Veron! 🙂
Hi Purple Foodie! We are totally in love with it!
Hi Gattina! Thank you! Everything you make is beautiful! 🙂
Hi Midge! I think guava jelly would be fantastic! Just don’t sub the whole amount first…since guava jelly is sometimes so sweet start with less and taste your way up 🙂 (must try that next time!)
Hi Pille! Aren’t they adorable? I am so enamoured with them 🙂 My friend got them in the US. As for sriracha, maybe you can find it in the Asian stores…but I’m sure you can experiment with other hot sauces too 🙂
Hi Sherry! Hope you guys like it!
Hi Anh! Sriracha rocks doesn’t it? 🙂
Thanks Ash 🙂
Mom-Friday says
I can do this! and I totally agree with thigh fillets!!! I was never really into breast meat 😀 I know this is a Sriracha recipe but would you suggest a milder alternative to this so the kids can eat this as well?
Stephanie says
Wow, looks just like the takeout I get from a local restaurant. And such an easy recipe, too!
joey says
Hi Mom-Friday! Thigh fillets are the best…I've never been a white meat gal either 🙂 You could try reducing the sriracha or nixing it altogether. I know this is supposed to be sriracha chicken but we wouldn't want the kiddies to revolt! 🙂
Hi Stephanie! Yesa, it's very easy 🙂
Nayna says
i go for the thigh/dark meat too, it stays moist and i think it's more flavorful.
sriracha is one of my top 5 favorite sauces (battling it out with cholula!)… tabasco being the first.
i love it combined with hoisin for a dipping sauce.
(that looks really delicious joey! also, …fluffy white rice=win)
joey says
Hi Nayna! My hubby and I love having lots of hot sauce on hand and this one's a keeper! Hmmm, I must try cholula one of these days…
Bordeaux says
Oh that sounds sooooo good.
lunchbox says
Joey, I just made this for dinner tonight and it got two thumbs up from the hubby! : ) It was so good. I didn't have mango or pineapple jam so I used orange marmalade. I also had extra cilantro and threw it in the marinade. Yum! Thank you! I can't wait to do roasted marylands with the leftover marinade.
Junglefrog says
That looks like a delicious dish!
joey says
Hi Bordeaux! Sriracha always sounds good to me!
Hi Mireille! So happy to hear you guys enjoyed it! Will keep the orange marmalade in mind…and cilantro (which is an herb a love!). I like the roasted marylands version too…and now I’m thinking of making a shrimp version 🙂
Hi Junglefrog! Thank you!
Sook says
This looks so delicious! I can't wait to try it!
Caroline McManus says
I have been too lazy to post a comment, but I literally make this all the time. I always mix in a bag of spinach with it. Tonight I am replacing the chicken with tofu! You are awesome! I love this sweet and spicy recipe!
joey says
Thanks Sook and Caroline! Caroline, tofu sounds like a great variation! Glad you have been enjoying this 🙂