A dish that you will find in most Jewish households on a Friday night is Sticky Chicken and it’s no wonder that it is a family favourite – its delicious, sticky and super sweet. The problem is that it is loaded with sugar and all the additives found in most ready-made sauces (probably one of the biggest reasons that it is loved so much!).
Looking at some sticky chicken recipes and all the unhealthy ingredients that go into making it, I decided to make my own healthy version the dish.
This really is a super easy recipe and can be served up as a healthy meal for the entire family. Portions can also be frozen and defrosted in the fridge ahead of serving it up.
If you would prefer to use chicken on the bone instead of breasts, increase your oven baking time by 20 minutes and brown the pieces in a pan with a little olive oil before baking them. Use this marinade for easy chicken kebabs or even for red meat too!
What you’ll need:
- 6-8 free-range chicken breasts
- 1 cup Passata sauce
- 1 Tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 Tin peaches in fruit juice (no sugar added)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 Tbs vinegar
- Juice of 1/2 a large lemon
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 tsp Herbamare or celery salt
- 4-5 cracks black pepper
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
To serve:
- 2 Tbs finely chopped spring onion
- 1 Tbs sesame seeds
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180°C
- Bring all the sauce ingredients to the boil in a medium sauce pan.
- Allow to simmer for 35-40 minutes until the sauce has reduced by about half and is sticky in consistency.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and remove the bay leaves.
- Purée the mixture using a hand blender (the sauce can be slightly lumpy, no need to be totally smooth).
- Place the chicken into a casserole dish and pour over the sauce.
- Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
Slice the chicken breast into pieces and toss together with the sauce. Sprinkle over the spring onion and sesame seeds (if your little one doesn’t mind them!) and serve over rice, veggies, whole-wheat noodles or baked potato. Enjoy!
Hungry Little Monkey 