Kripalu Recipe: Roasted Chicken with Sesame Cider Glaze
Finger-licking-good roasted chicken that’s easy to make. Chicken thighs, drumsticks or breasts coated in ginger and cooked with a delicious sesame cider glaze. Serves 4 to 6
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
Pinch of chili flakes
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons tamari
1-piece star anise or 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed
2 cups apple cider
1-pound bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, drumsticks or breasts
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and 1 tablespoon of the oil, shaking the pan to coat the ginger, then sauté just until the ginger is fragrant, about a minute. Add the chili flakes, cider vinegar, tamari, and anise or fennel, and simmer until the liquid reduces to by about one-fourth (reduced to about 1 tablespoon), 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in the cider and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Boil until the liquid reduces in volume by about half or until it is just thick enough to coat a spoon, scraping the sides once or twice, 30 to 40 minutes total. Check the consistency in a spoonful of the sauce. Drag your finger in the sauce in the spoon, and if it leaves a trail that fills in slowly, it’s thick enough. If it fills in quickly, reduce it a bit more. Heat a large ovenproof sauté pan over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken, skin side down, to the dry pan. Let the chicken cook, without touching it, until the skin is golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Flip the chicken and brush each piece with the glaze mixture. Place in the oven and cook until the chicken registers an internal temperature of 165ºF, 10 to 15 minutes.
Jeremy Rock Smith, Kripalu faculty and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, began his career in classical French cuisine.
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