Sticky Chicken

Have you ever unintentionally put yourself in a sticky situation? You know the kind that makes you scrunch your shoulders up uncomfortably, where words escape you clumsily, your cheeks blush and you start to giggle uncontrollably.

If I could have a cupcake for every time I’ve been in a sticky situation that caused that kind of reaction, I’d be on a constant sugar high. I am the clumsiest person I know; whether talking or walking. I’ve often found myself on the wrong side of what I thought a pretty nice compliment, genuine hug, kind gesture or a funny joke. I know what you are thinking… who could possibly get something that’s meant to be ‘good’, so wrong!  

Luckily, my family and close friends understand I have a clumsy nature, but even their understanding of my clumsiness doesn’t help when the moment has just happened and they are still reacting from shock! The one person, who always seemed to bear the brunt of my clumsiness was my Mom, and sadly for her this all started from an early age! When I was a toddler, one day my mother just had her wisdom teeth taken out and her cheeks had swollen up so much; her face looked like a chipmunk. Not aware that she had just had this done, I thought she was playing around with me and blowing her cheeks up. So in a joking manner, I raised both hands level with her cheeks, and with a little force, I clapped them together to squish the air out. Can you imagine the sticky situation I was in when my Dad rushed in to the room with my Mom screaming and crying, and my hands still up in the air with a shocked look on my face, wondering what I did wrong… Thankfully, a stern talking to was all I got at that time, but this is just one example of the many times something ‘good’ has turned bad! 

With age and experience, those kinds of clumsy moments have become a lot less. Having shared all of this, there is one sticky situation I would love to be in right now, and that’s with this Sticky Chicken recipe. At least I can say I fully qualify to know this sticky situation is one you’ll want to be in! It’s another easy recipe that Shane’s Mom has shared with me. It uses less than a handful of ingredients and your first attempt is a guaranteed success – it’s that simple.

Give it a go; it can get really sticky, but you’ll want to get stuck in!

Ingredients

1 Cup Caramel Sugar

100g Tomato Paste sachet

½ Tsp Peri Peri spice

Pinch Salt

3 Pieces Chicken thigh and leg, skin on

Instruction:

1.  Have the stove on a medium-high heat.
2. In a small pan, put the caramel sugar and tomato paste in together.
3. Stir until the sugar has melted and the mixture has become ‘runny’.
4. Add the pinch of salt and peri-peri. Stir. Take off heat. (Taste the marinade as you go – if you want more heat add another ½ teaspoon of peri-peri).
5. Have your chicken pieces spread in an oven dish (skin side up), pour the marinade over the chicken pieces and make sure all the areas of the chicken are covered (you might need to get your hands dirty here and rub the marinade all over the chicken pieces).
6. Leave the chicken marinating for an hour or overnight.
7. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes. (Until chicken is cooked through)

Note: You do not need to turn the chicken in between, you can leave it skin side up until cooking time is complete.