With Salt: Soy Sauce & Honey Baked Chicken Thighs
in an orange reduction with brown rice noodles
Happy Thursday, friends!
I am in my own version of a hangover after watching last night’s Vanderpump Rules. I mean, is it obvious that the producers were sus? Yeah, duh. Their entire job- to sniff out the drama- hangs on the wings of these people being assholes. But, does the gaslighting, lies, and overall hindsight mess with my head? Absolutely.
Thank god “And Just Like That” is coming back right after the reunion- mama needs a palette cleanser from the drama. (Save your comments on the reboot. Yes, it’s not the same. But, it’s so wholesome and aesthetically pleasing and it’s like Nancy Meyer’s adjacent level of detail that calms my brain)
Speaking of palettes… (what a segue)
Let’s get into this week’s recipe.
While I refuse to declare a “wEdDiNg dIeT” I have cleaned up a lot of our meals lately. I’m entering a very busy season at work, and my goal has been to shift our cooking to easier meals during the week that hold us over and find one day a week to cook more elaborately. It’s all a balance, right? Plus, we never want to make cooking a chore.
With all that said, this week’s recipe is an absolutely delicious, quick, and easy meal to make.
I sort of made it up, and I’m giving you the version of “What I would have done better”, so, let’s get into it!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
1 package of chicken thighs ( I used chicken thighs because they’re so hard to overcook and I hate dried-out chicken)
Sesame Oil
Soy Sauce
Orange Marmalade
Chicken Stock
garlic cloves
Avocado Oil
Honey
2 Lemons
Rice Noodles
Flour
Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Garlic Powder
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER:
Preheat your oven to 375. In two separate bowls, sift together 1 cup of flour with your preferred level of Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, and garlic powder. (I’d suggest 1-2 tablespoons of each) In the other bowl, whisk together 4 tablespoons of honey and about 1/2 cup of soy sauce.
Take your chicken thighs and start cutting them up to bite size pieces. Then, place your bite-size pieces in the soy sauce mix, and then in the flour mix, and then on a cooking pan. Yes, we’re coating them… and yes, you can use an egg wash- this was just fun and flavorful! Continue this process until your chicken thighs are finished and then pop them in the oven for 20 minutes.
In a pasta pot, start boiling 4 quarts of water for your rice noodles.
In a saucepan, spray or spread your avocado oil and start browning your garlic on medium heat. Then, add in 2-3 cups of your chicken stock, 1/2 cup of orange marmalade (or, orange juice- whatever is easier!) 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Whisk together, add in salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and taste. Then, squeeze in your fresh lemon and leave in the peels as the sauce simmers. Your sauce should be tangy but not overwhelmingly citrusy. If it is too powerful, add salt or more soy sauce until it’s at your comfort level of savory/umami.
Once your water is boiled, pull it off the burner and put your Thai noodles in the warm water. Stir and then allow it to sit for four minutes. Once the four minutes is up, drain it and just allow the noodles to sit until you’re ready to serve.
When your chicken is finished, add those little pieces into your saucepan, stir, and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes.
When you’re ready to serve, put your noodles in the bottom of the bowl and then pour your chicken/sauce over it and serve!
Pro-tip: this isn’t a stir fry so despite the picture above, heed my warning and do not put the noodles in the pan. They’re delicate and become mushy too easily.
Additional Tips: If you’re not into Thai noodles, you can substitute rice as your carb. In that case, I would add the rice to the saucepan.
As always, thank you for being here. I’m so grateful for this space and for you.
You can always accessorize your cooking days with our sassy apron line! There’s still 15% off with the code “Sassypants”.
If you’re new to the Substack realm, I’d definitely suggest creating an account and downloading the app. There are some incredible writers here, and the space now allows us to write “notes”, which have been so fun to write.
Feel free to follow us on Instagram: @saltwithsoul
For our paid subscribers, we’ll be back tomorrow with a week worth of meals and recipes! And, of course, we’ll be back on Monday with a little bit of soul.
Enjoy your weekend, friends.