Chilli Jam Chicken
Chicken thighs glazed sticky with chilli jam, soy, lime and ginger. Sweet, hot and savory at once, with five minutes of actual work.
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 40 min
- total
- 50 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- easy
Chilli jam out of a jar is the whole trick here, one Nigella Lawson built a dinner around: it brings sweetness, heat and body in one spoonful, and the oven turns it into a lacquered glaze.
Marinate in the morning if you can, but even thirty minutes gives the chicken its sticky shine.
This dish is one of our top 10 recipes that made Nigella Lawson famous.
method
Mix the chilli jam, soy, lime juice, garlic and ginger. Turn the chicken in it and marinate for 30 minutes, or up to a day in the fridge.
Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Arrange the thighs skin side up in a roasting tray with the marinade.
Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, basting once with the extra spoon of jam halfway, until deeply glazed and cooked through.
Rest 5 minutes, scatter with spring onion and chilli, and serve with rice to catch the glaze.
chef's tips
- Sugar burns before chicken cooks, so middle rack, and a loose sheet of foil if it darkens too fast.
- Works just as well on wings and drumsticks; shorten or lengthen the time to match.
- Any chilli jam works; the hotter the jar, the better the balance against the sweetness.