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Chicken Thighs in Spicy Hot Sauce

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Prepare to liven up your taste buds with this one! Whole thighs skinned but not boned are ideal for Chicken Thighs in Spicy Hot Sauce which is a rather grown-up sweet and sour dish. I have never found this on a Indian or Chinese menu as it fits into both worlds. Garlic & ginger are dominant flavours as it is added at both the start and end of the cooking process. There is also an unmistakable Zing from fresh lemon juice and rind added at the end. It has a similarity to sweet & sour from your local Chinese, but, oh! It's so not that... This is a very sticky rich sauce with the sweetness of the dish provided by the Tomato Ketchup base—for which there is no substitute, may I add. The paste can be made and stored in a clean jar in the fridge for weeks. The paste I am using is the last of a 5 curry pot that I made 6 weeks ago, it has a shelf life of 3 months! So, yes there is work in making your own spice pastes, but well, the flavour profile will WOW you. Kashmiri chilli powder is mild in flavour with a vibrant red colour, so this is not a chilli hot recipe, but one that is so indulgently naughty that even the kids will adore it.

Click the Method tab below to see a step by step guide on how to make Chicken Thighs in Spicy Hot Sauce with pictures.

lemon garlic ginger added

ingredients

Here's what you need :¬)

Kashmiri masala paste

  • 4 Tbls coriander seeds
  • 4 Tbls cumin seeds
  • 2 Tbls fennel seeds
  • 2 Tbls fenegreek seeds
  • 1 Tbls black peppercorns
  • 1 4cm cinnamon stick
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 4 Tbls Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 100ml water
  • 100 ml white wine vinegar
  • 150 ml vegetable oil

main dish

serves 2 - 4

  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp five spice powder
  • 4 Tbls tomato ketchup
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 4 tsp Kashmiri masala paste (above) 1 tsp per chicken thigh
  • 4 large chicken thighs skins removed
  • 3 Tbls vegetable oil
  • 2 inch fresh ginger small batons
  • 4 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1 lemon rind shreaded & juice
  • Handful of fresh coriander chopped

method

The Kashmiri Masala Paste is our first job to make Chicken Thighs in Spicy Hot Sauce. So get everything out listed for the masala paste and lets begin to create our paste. You can do this all in advance of making the dish. This whole process takes 10 minutes.

to make the masala paste

  1. Put all of your whole spices into a frying pan and warm them through gently
  2. Once fragrant set them into a pestle and mortar to cool
  3. Once cold grind the whole spices to a powder
  4. Add your pre-ground spices re-grind to combine
  5. Put water into the same cold frying pan
  6. Add the spice powder
  7. Add the oil & turn the heat onto medium
  8. Stir constantly — do not go off to make tea!
  9. Soon as the oil begins to separate your paste is cooked
  10. Remove the paste from the heat
  11. Add the vinegar to a clean storage pot & shake
  12. Add your spice paste & shake

Now you have a pot of Magic! You will only need 4 tsp for 4 chicken thighs, so, now you're ready to make Chicken thighs in Spicy Hot Sauce so let's do it!

to make the dish

Put the first 6 ingredients for the main dish into a container large enough to add the chicken to. Stir the ingredients to combine then add the chicken thighs and set in the fridge overnight.

main dish ingredients
main dish ingredients
marinade ingredients
marinade ingredients in tub
marinate the chicken overnight
chicken coated in marinade
  1. Heat a heavy based pan to medium hot
  2. Add oil as soon as it shimmers add half your garlic and ginger until golden
add the ginger & garlic
ginger garlic in wok
brown the ginger & garlic a little
browned ginger garlic in wok
  1. Add chicken pieces & all the marinade
add the chicken & marinade
marinated chicken in wok
  1. Fry both sides till golden
fry the chicken on both sides
chicken cooking in wok
  1. Cover & cook until the chicken is tender (internal temperature 77c to 82c) & the oil separate from the sauce
  2. Sprinkle with the remaining lemon garlic & ginger reheat
add the lemon garlic & ginger
lemon garlic ginger added
  1. Complete with a flourish of coriander mix well & serve
eats well with chunky chips :-P
chicken thighs in spicy hot sauce and chips
excellent with...
pork fried rice plated 2
...pork fried rice