20-Minute Chicken with Five Spice Dipping Salt

Such a simple, but flavorful recipe. It doesn't look like much, but it is absolutely delicious and quick to make. It's difficult to believe so few ingredients can produce such incredible results ~ but they do!

The ingredients above, plus the chicken, are the only ingredients you'll need for this recipe.

You can use any cut-up chicken parts for this recipe but I prefer thighs, cut in half (across the bone) as they cook quickly while remaining tender and moist. It's an excellent one to try when you find bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs on sale, kind on the wallet, too.

Fast Chicken with Five Spice Dipping Salt

Adapted from Donna Hay

2 servings

1 tablespoon Asian-style Chili Oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Pinch Chinese five spice powder

14 ounces chicken pieces, bone-in, skin-on cut into smallish pieces*

1 tablespoon sea salt (I used Hawaiian Red Salt)

1 teaspoon five spice powder

*I cut the thighs in half, through the bone. If you don't use smaller chicken pieces, then increase the cooking time accordingly.

Method:

Mix the chili oil, lemon juice and a pinch of five spice powder in a medium bowl; combine. Add the chicken and stir to coat evenly, let the pieces marinate in the lemon juice for five minutes. (I stir again about half way through to assure all pieces are coated in lemon juice.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F), center rack.

Place a large frying pan over high heat (a black cast iron pan is ideal). Add chicken pieces, skin side down and cook for two minutes on each side, or until crisp and nicely golden brown.

Transfer to a low-sided baking pan and bake for 10 minutes or until cooked through.

While chicken is baking combine the salt and 1 teaspoon five spice powder.

To plate:

Place chicken and a small pile of the salt mixture on each plate. Perfect with simply steamed or sauteed green vegetables, and rice on the side.

Joyce Chen Super Scissors

Does anyone else use Joyce Chen's Scissors?

You can click above to read more about them.

I've been using these for several years, they always stay sharp (and, oops, I even abuse them by putting them through he dishwasher.)

Truly, my kitchen, garden, utility room and craft tool baskets wouldn't be complete without them. I use them for so many tasks when regular scissors or snips won't do.

I love them for cutting flowers, light pruning, and cutting open stubborn packages. They will even cut through chicken bones with little effort without hurting your hands, thanks to the flexible handles. (I used them to cut the raw chicken thigh bones in half for this recipe.)

I highly recommend; they make great useful gifts, too. Everyone I've given them to just loves them.

I hope you'll give this recipe a try if it sounds good to you.