This finger lickin' good chicken is marinated in a sweet, tangy and spicy pineapple glaze! Perfectly matched with coconut rice.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time50 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr5 minutesmins
Course: BBQ, Grilling
Cuisine: Hawaiian
Servings: 4- 6
Calories: 504cal
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Ingredients
1.5 kg / 3lb chicken drumsticks
2tbspolive oil
Marinade Glaze
440 g / 15 oz can crushed pineapple in natural juice(about 1.5 cups) (see notes)
1/2cuptomato sauce or ketchup
1/2cuplight soy sauce(see notes)
4tbspbrown sugar
2tbspmalt vinegar(see notes)
1tspfresh ginger, grated
3garlic cloves, minced
1tbsppaprika powder
1tbspdried onion flakes
1/2tbspcumin powder
1/2tspchili powder(or cayenne powder). Adjust to taste.
Black pepper
Coconut Rice
1cuplong grain or medium grain rice, uncooked
1cupcoconut milk(see notes)
1cupwater
1/2tspsalt
3/4tspsugar
Optional Garnish
Lime wedges, to serve
Coriander/cilantro leaves, for garnish on rice and chicken
Toasted desiccated coconut, for garnish on rice
Instructions
Marinate the Chicken
Combine the Marinade Glaze ingredients in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to simmer, then turn it down to medium for 10 minutes or so until it reduced by around 1/3 and is a bit syrupy. The pineapple should be softened and starting to breakdown. Give it a mush with a potato masher to help it along.
Allow Marinade Glaze to cool, then combine in a large ziplock bag or bowl with the chicken.
Marinate for at least 4 hours, up to 24 hours. You could also freeze the chicken with the marinade.
Cook the Chicken
Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
Bring the chicken to room temperature.
Dip the chicken and Marinade into a baking dish.
Drizzle over olive oil then spoon over some of the Marinade Glaze onto the drumsticks, ensuring you get some pineapple chunks on the chicken itself.
Place chicken in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove baking tray from oven and turn the chicken and again spoon the marinade & pineapple bits onto the chicken.
Bake for a further 15 minutes and check the chicken. If the marinade pooled in the baking dish is looking dry and starting to burn, then pour in a bit of water.
Return chicken to the oven and bake until dark golden brown and the Marinade Glaze is caramelised and sticky (about 5 to 10 minutes).
Coconut Rice
Combine ingredients in a saucepan over high heat. Cover with a lid and bring to boil.
Turn down heat to low then leave to simmer for 15 to 18 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed.
Remove from heat and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
To Serve
Garnish rice with tasted desiccated coconut (optional).
Scatter coriander/cilantro over rice and chicken and serve with lime wedges on the side.
Notes
1. If you can't find crushed pineapple, you can use canned sliced pineapple or pineapple pieces. Then just use a fork or potato masher to crush it. You need a combination of both pineapple chunks and juice for the marinade to turn out sticky.Make sure to use canned pineapple in natural juice, not syrup. If you use pineapple in syrup, the marinade will be far too sweet!2. Ensure the soy sauce you use is light soy sauce, not the usual dark soy sauce. The flavour of ordinary dark soy sauce is stronger and will overpower the flavour of this marinade. If you can't find light soy sauce, start with 1/4 cup of dark soy sauce and adjust by taste. 3. The malt vinegar can be substituted with any dark coloured vinegar except balsamic. If you don't have a dark vinegar, then a white vinegar will work ok.4. This recipe works with both canned coconut milk and coconut powder. Just mix up 1 cup of coconut milk using the powder according to the packet instructions. In Australia, coconut powder is better value than cans and also lower in fat. Plus it is useful when you don't need an entire can of coconut milk.5. If you use a large baking dish so the drumsticks are spaced out a lot then the marinade may dry out too much while baking. If this happens, just add a splash of water so the marinade ends up being a sticky glaze. Ideally you want a baking dish where the drumsticks fit in snugly but without being squeezed in tightly (they won't brown as well).6. This recipe is difficult to cook on the outdoor grill because the sugar in the Marinade Glaze burns quickly. It does work, but requires a bit of technique! a) Heat BBQ on medium, using the flat plate side, not the grill (you don't want the flames to have direct contact with the chicken) b) Shake off excess Marinade Glaze, and cook the chicken on the BBQ for 15 to 20 minutes, turning to cook each side evenly. c) When the drumsticks are done, push them close together (still on the BBQ) and pour over all the remaining Marinade Glaze. Then toss the drumsticks to coat with the Marinade Glaze (an egg flip works best for this). Then allow to cook for a few minutes until the Marinade Glaze becomes thick, sticky and caramelised, turning the chicken frequently and scraping up the Marinade Glaze as much as possible to make it stick onto the chicken. Don't walk away, this will happen quickly and you need to keep turning the drumsticks! d) Remove chicken from BBQ and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.7. Nutrition Facts for chicken:Nutrition Facts for coconut rice: