Simple Thai Chicken

Guys. This chicken recipe is AWESOME! The thighs come out super moist (yes I said moist and I know many of you cringed at that), it's super flavorful, and the best part is its super easy!
I had all the ingredients right in my fridge so that was an added bonus as I loathe going to the grocery store. I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who will do everything I can to find recipes that I already have the ingredients for so I can avoid getting dressed and dragging my children out for an epic battle at the store.
This recipe came together so quickly and had so much flavor jammed into the sauce. That is one thing I love about Asian cooking. It's usually simple and full of flavor, which for me is the way to go. Even my 5 year old daughter loved it and she has become the pickiest eater in the world.



This recipe comes from one of my favorite blogs called Damn Delicious. She takes the most gorgeous pictures of her food and I'm here to tell you that I have tried many recipes from her site and haven't had a bad one yet.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped (optional and in my opinion not necessary)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

For the Sauce:
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons  sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Begin by making the sauce. Whisk together chili sauce, soy sauce, garlic, fish sauce, ginger, lime juice and Sriracha in a small bowl; set aside.
3. Melt butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Stir in chili sauce mixture.
4. Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes. Then broil for 2-3 minutes, or until caramelized and slightly charred.
5. Serve immediately, garnished with peanuts and cilantro, if desired.

**Randi's Side Notes**
~First off I did put the peanuts and cilantro on my first plate and I personally did not like the peanuts at all when added to it. I felt the chicken was flavorful enough and with the crunchy skin I didn't feel like I needed the peanuts.
~ If you don't have fresh ginger, which I didn't, you can use half the amount in dried. So I used 2 tsp of dried ginger.
~ If you do not have an oven safe skillet (or one big enough to hold everything) simply place your chicken after you have seared it into an oven safe dish and pour the sauce mixture over it and bake. It may take a little longer to cook when doing it this way only because the pan isn't already hot, but works just the same.
~ I read other reviewers say that they tried using chicken breasts and it was great that way as well. Note though that the cooking times would be different. I would still use skin on as well.
~ You could easily turn this into a freezer meal. Just follow the same steps and before placing in the oven just put in a freezer safe container.
~ As always, FOR GLUTEN FREE, just make sure you are double checking your soy sauce and other bottled Asian ingredients. Some of them have gluten added and some don't.
~ Instead of using the broiler you could also grill these babies! The thought makes me drool.