Cardamom Honey Chicken

I wanted to cook something a little more western last week. Hence, I decided to searched for some easy,yet not too difficult recipe for me to try.I chance upon Simply Recipe for Cardamom Honey Chicken that doesn't require too many ingredients and steps to cook.

Sherry was a little harder to look as it's not available at many liquor shop like Cold Storage,Ben's Supermarket.I tried my luck at Tong Woh,which offers quite reasonably priced wines/liquors and voila,I found it there.That place has not failed me so far when it comes to looking for a specific type of wine for cooking.

Do read my notes at the end of the recipes on the changes that I have made.

INGREDIENTS

Marinade

• 4 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp sherry
• 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds,ground
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns,ground

Chicken

• 6 chicken breasts,or one whole chicken,cut into parts
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon,thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper

STEPS

If a recipe calls for ground cardamom,it is best to start with whole pods.Break the pods open to release the seeds and pour it into a small bowl.Then,use a grinder to grind the cardamom seeds and the peppercorns.

1.Preheat the oven to 390F.Pour in the honey and stir it together with sherry,cardamom and peppercorns.Place the marinade and chicken in a large bowl and coat the ingredients over the chicken.Cover the top and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan at medium high heat.Sear the chicken,skin side brown,until golden.

3. Place lemon slices on the side of the roasting pan.Lay the chicken pieces on top.Brush it with marinade.Season generously with salt and pepper.Place it in the oven and bake until done.Remove from oven and let rest before serving.Pour out drippings from the pan into a gravy boat for gravy.

4. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

NOTES:

• After I had finished cooking,I found the sauce a tad too dry.I would suggest that you increase the tablespoon for marinade to at least 6-8 for honey and 6-10 for sherry,if you prefer more sauce.
• If you are cooking for a family of 4,6 pieces of chicken breasts may be too much.I bought 4 from the wet market and there's more than enough for us.
• I replaced olive oil with sunflower oil as some of the non-stick pan might not work well for olive oil to cook the chicken skin.
• Basically,my first recipe,the meat wasn't too dry and I pair it off with fresh salad (honey and olive oil) and rice.