Nothing Fancy: sticky chilli chicken with hot-and-sour pineapple recipe
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SERVES 6-8
Ingredients
*1.8 kg bone-in, skin-on chicken (legs, thighs, breasts and/or wings all work)
*kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
*100 g light brown sugar
*125 ml unseasoned rice wine vinegar
*125 g sambal or other chilli paste
*60 ml fish sauce
*60 ml lime juice
*2 teaspoons chilli flakes
*2 garlic cloves, finely grated
*½ pineapple, peeled and cored, cut into 4 cm spears or wedges
*½ shallot or 4 spring onions, thinly sliced#
*1 large handful coriander, tender leaves and stems, coarsely chopped
*2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Method
1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in a large resealable plastic bag or large baking dish.
2. Combine the sugar, vinegar, sambal, fish sauce, lime juice, chilli flakes and garlic in a medium bowl, whisking to dissolve the sugar. Pour over the chicken, massaging to make sure everything gets equal love. Seal the bag or wrap the baking dish and let the chicken sit for at least 30 minutes, refrigerated.
3. Preheat the oven to 215°C. Place the chicken and pineapple in a deep baking tray (for easier clean-up, first line the tray with foil or baking paper). Drizzle the remaining marinade over everything and place in the oven.
4. Roast until the chicken is deeply browned, caramelised and cooked through, 50–60 minutes; if you have a pastry brush, feel free to baste the chicken and pineapple periodically with the rendered chicken fat juices. By this time, the pineapple will also be impossibly golden and juicy, giving up all the goods, which makes for a delicious, sticky sauce.
5. Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving platter, carving up the chicken and slicing the pineapple for easier serving, if you like. Scatter with the shallot, coriander and sesame seeds before serving.
DO AHEAD Chicken can be marinated 24 hours in advance.
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NOTHING FANCY: unfussy food for having people over by Alison Roman (Hardie Grant, £22) Photography: Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott