Chicken thighs cooked in a spicy Thai style peanut butter sauce. If you like satay chicken, you'll LOVE this. It takes moments to whisk up the spicy peanut butter sauce and just around 40 minutes to bake. Sprinkle with spring onions, fresh red chilli and more peanuts and congratulate yourself on making such a delicious one pan chicken recipe. Mmmm!
1½ouncespeanutsaround 50 grams or a large handful, crushed in a food processor or bashed with a rolling pin in a plastic bag (salted or unsalted are both fine)
1red chilior increase to 2, chopped finely (or serve more on the side if you like)
Slowly blend the soy sauce into the peanut butter in a jug or medium bowl, then blend in the coconut milk & stock/corn flour.
Stir in the minced garlic, chopped ginger, honey, rice vinegar and chopped chilis.
Arrange the chicken thighs in a large baking dish (A medium round baking dish, or a 9 x 12 inch rectangular one), then pour the sauce all over them.
Cover with aluminium foil and bake for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce bubbling and thickened a little. 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the foil, spoon the sauce all over the chicken again and then return to the oven uncovered.
Spoon the chicken and sauce into individual bowls over rice or rice noodles (or into one nice larger serving dish with a separate bowl of rice/noodles).
Sprinkle the spring onions, peanuts and remaining chili over. Eat immediately with lime wedges and poppadoms/naan bread if you like. Also serve extra chilis on the side if you like.
Video
Notes
Thickness of the sauce: Sometimes I find the sauce turns out a little thicker, sometimes a little thinner. It depends on how big the chicken thighs are.To thicken slightly more, just add another tablespoon of cornflour blended with a bit of water or stock, drizzle and stir it into the sauce, then return to the oven for 5 more minutes.Chilis: Remove the seeds to make the dish less spicy. Add 1 to 2 more chilis to the sauce and sprinkled on the top for a spicier dish. Alternatively you can serve a dish of extra chopped chilis on the side for those who would like more spice. Gluten free: Use gluten free soy sauce & chicken stock to make this dish gluten free.Alternative: You can add 1 to 3 teaspoons of Thai red chili paste to the sauce for more of a 'Thai curry' vibe! To make ahead: Assemble the dish completely, then cover and keep in the fridge for up to a day before baking. Make the toppings separately to add after baking.Freezing instructions: Let cool then freeze in glass containers for up to 3 months. Freeze without the garnishes, of course.
Let defrost (ideally overnight in the fridge), then cover with aluminium foil and reheat in the oven at 325F/160C for about 25 minutes or until properly heated through.
Alternatively, reheat in the microwave. I suggest reheating it at 50 to 80% power to make sure it doesn't dry out. Try 5 minutes, then for a minute at a time until thoroughly reheated.