First, let me say, this chicken was spicy – not in a hot way, but it did have a taste of its own. The gravy was wonderful. In fact, I am likely to use the gravy recipe every time I make homemade chicken gravy – it was just that good.
I began by purchasing two certified organic chicken breasts and soaking them in a honey brine first. These were juicy already, so possibly the honey brine was unnecessary, but I do think it added a dash of honey flavor to the chicken.
Once the chicken breasts were done soaking in the honey brine, I patted them dry, put them back into my marinade dish without any liquid at all on them, sealed it and set it back in the refrigerator for 3 more hours. During this time, I made the sriracha marinade that the chicken would marinate in overnight.
Here is the recipe I used –
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup organic orange juice
- 1 Tablespoon sriracha sauce
- 1 Tablespoon pomegranate syrup
- 1 Tablespoon Chinese ginger (powdered)
- 2 whole star anise pods
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro stems
Day 1
1. Combine the ingredients making sure to mix them well.
2. Pour the marinade over the top of the dry chicken breasts.
3. Remove the air from the marinade bowl or if you don’t have a marinade bowl, cover the container with a lid or Saran wrap.
4. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
Day 2
1. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator.
2. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place it on a thick layer of paper towels. Pat the chicken dry.
3. Dump the marinade down the sink. You are finished with it.
4. Place the chicken in a pan in the oven. I put my chicken on top of the carrots, potatoes and fennel.
5. Cover the chicken with an oven-proof lid or aluminum foil.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for forty minutes. If you are baking just the chicken, reduce this time to 30 minutes.
7. Remove the chicken from the pan and place it in a frying pan. I used one Tablespoon of Thai Chili flavored Olive Oil to brown the chicken. You could use any oil you wish or even butter.
8. Brown the chicken, then remove it from the frying pan. Set the chicken breasts aside making sure they are in a place where they remain warm.
9. Sprinkle enough flour in the pan to absorb the grease and mix.
10. Add in one cup of warm water. Stir well so there are no lumps.
11. Once the water and flour are mixed, place two chicken bouillon cubes into the liquid and stir until they are dissolved.
12. Add approximately one cup of heavy whipping cream. Add this slowly as the water and flour mixture begin to thicken.
13. Stir in one teaspoon sriracha sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
14. Mix well and continue cooking until the gravy is the right thickness for you, then place the chicken back into the pan and coat with the gravy.
