Honey & soy chicken

This crowd-pleasing honey and soy chicken is great for family meals, buffets and picnics. Serve with rice and salad or steamed greens

Prep:15 mins
Cook:30 mins
plus at least 2 hrs marinating

Serves 4
Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 348
fat 18g
saturates 4g
carbs 26g
sugars 0g
fibre 1g
protein 21g
salt 2.5g

Ingredients

8 skin-on chicken thighs (about 1kg)
4 tbsp honey
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
4 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp tomato ketchup
30g ginger, peeled and finely grated
4 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp red chilli flakes
2 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and ground using a pestle and mortar or spice grinder
1 tbsp sunflower oil
spring onions, rice and salad or greens, to serve

Tip

Chop any leftover cooked chicken and scatter it over a tortilla wrap. Top with thinly sliced radishes, spring onions and chopped coriander before rolling it up and serving.
For an extra layer of warming spice, use 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder instead of the ground fennel seeds, and swap the chilli flakes for 2 red chillies, deseeded and chopped.

Method

Using a sharp knife, score the chicken thighs twice through the skin, season and transfer to a bowl.
Whisk the honey with the soy, lemon juice, ketchup, ginger, garlic, chilli flakes and fennel seeds. Pour this over the chicken, making sure that each piece is coated, then cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 2-3 hrs, or overnight if you have time.
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Line a large roasting tin with foil and put in the oven to heat up for 10 mins. Gently shake the excess marinade off the chicken thighs, reserving the bowl of leftover marinade, then carefully arrange in a single layer in the hot tin. Drizzle with the oil and roast for 10 mins.
Meanwhile, pour the reserved marinade into a small pan and bring to the boil over a medium-low heat, stirring often. Cook for 7-10 mins, or until thick and syrupy.
Remove the chicken from the oven and carefully pour any juices from the tin into the pan with the syrupy sauce and continue to cook for 5 mins until the sauce is the consistency of double cream.
Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then return the roasting tin to the oven for 10-15 mins more, or until the thighs are sticky and tender, and the juices run clear when pierced with a knife. Slice some spring onions along their length and scrape a knife along the shreds to curl them, if you like, then scatter over the chicken. Serve warm or at room temperature with rice and salad or steamed greens.