Baked Crispy Tender Turmeric Chicken Thighs with Leek recipe
A super simple and truly delicious Oven Baked Crispy Tender Turmeric Chicken Thighs recipe with crispy skins and tender juicy thigh meat baked in turmeric coconut milk cream until sweet and melt-in-your mouth creamy juicy. This simple flavorful and little hands-on time dish will become your everyday go-to chicken thigh casserole recipe ! Hands-on time: About 15 mins
Servings 4 pieces
Calories 562kcal
Ingredients
- 4 pieces 1 ⅔ lbs chicken thighs (skin-on bone-in)
- 1 large leek*
- 1 fresno or serrano chili pepper thin sliced to strips (optional) (seeds removed)
Dry spice seasonings:
- 1 tsp turmeric powder alt. curry powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- Coarse salt and black pepper to taste
Milk cream: (Qty. based on a 13 by 8.5-inch oval shape casserole dish)
- About 1 ½ cups full fat coconut milk
- 1 tsp turmeric powder alt. curry powder
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
Instructions
- Chicken: Preheat oven to 375F/191C. Season chicken thighs with ingredients under “dry spice” - both skin and meaty sides. Use your hands to gently rub/massage the spice in so that the chicken will be more flavorful. Preheat a large cast iron (or stainless steel) skillet over medium/medium-low heat until the skillet is well-heated. Add ghee or avocado oil, place the chicken skin side down. Crisp up the skins without moving them around for about 7-8 mins. Once the skin is crispy, sear the flip side for about 3 additional minutes.
- Leek: In the meantime, cut off of the bottom tougher tip end of the leek (dark green part). Save them for later soup stock use. Dice the remainder of the leek to rounds - white parts about ¼ inch rounds & green parts about little less than ¼ inch rounds. Separate white and green parts. Rinse under cold water until clean. Drain and set aside.
- Add ingredients in order: Mixed well coconut milk, turmeric, and coconut aminos. Place green (tougher parts) of the leeks at the bottom of a casserole dish. Pour the milk over. Distribute it evenly over the casserole dish. Place seared chicken thighs (skin side up) on top of the leeks. Pour-in any extra chicken juice in the skillet. Gently wiggle/push the chicken down a bit so that the meaty bottom parts are in touch with the cream and the skin sides are above the cream (i.e. not touching the cream). Place white parts of the leeks around & in-between the chicken thighs.* (Optional: place thin sliced chilies on top of chicken).
- Bake at 375F lower rack for 40 minutes then raise the temperature to 400F for 8 to 10 additional minutes*. Remove the dish from the oven. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. The sauce will thicken further. Serve with a bowl of fresh leafy green salad (my favorite is wild arugula mixed with romaine lettuce).
Video
Notes
- How much milk cream should you add to the dish? Chances are your casserole dish will be in different size than mine. A good rule-of-thumb: you want to have just enough milk cream that touches the bottom meaty side of the chicken yet not too much that will spill-over/cover the crispy skin. If your casserole dish is smaller than mine, use less milk cream and vice versa. Find a dish that’s just about the right size to fit/snuggle in all the chicken thighs with some small space in between.
- Bake time: Oven temperature varies. The chicken is cooked through when a meat thermometer reaches 165F at the thickest part of the chicken.
Nutrition
Serving: 303g | Calories: 562kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 45.8g | Saturated Fat: 23.6g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 180mg | Sodium: 553mg | Potassium: 214mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 500IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 5.2mg