Ingredients

Scale

2.2 lbs (1kg) boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)
2 Tbsp ghee

Sauce:

1–2 red chili peppers (I liked 2)(finely diced)
2–3 Tbsp tamarind paste***
1 cup crushed pineapple (see How to Choose, Cut, & Grow a Pineapple)
1 Tbsp coconut aminos
2 cloves garlic (crushed)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Melt ghee in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
Brown chicken (cook in batches if needed), cooking 3-4 minutes on either side.
Combine all sauce ingredients together in a saucepan to at least 65 °C.
Coat chicken in sauce in a baking dish and transfer to oven.
Cook until meat juices run clear or use a meat thermometer (it took me about 13 minutes).

Notes

**This was delicious and fantastic when I made it, and I thought that it would be that much better the next day after all the flavors marinated a bit more, BUT I forgot about the enzymes in the pineapple: I found that after a few days, the leftover chicken’s outer texture was… “soft”. Whoops. Read above for an explanation and solution.

***You can buy jars of processed tamarind paste, but I used tamarind from a block which has some fibers and hard pieces of the seed. This can be soaked in equal parts water to soften, then squeezed to produce a smooth paste which will not break your teeth (discard the hard mass left in your hand after squeezing out the soft paste). Yay! Let’s not talk about what it looks like and just focus on the rich tamarind flavor!

Cook Time: 13 min
Method: Oven
Cuisine: Filipino