Spicy food is a private and at times a peculiar obsession. There have been several instances when a cup of noodles (besides the given spice mix) has been subjected to several teaspoons of chilli powder. I am one of those people who believe that when it comes to savoury food, flavour is based on spiciness.

As one grows older (but not wiser) you notice that your insides aren’t as tolerant as they used to be. After having three consecutive days of really REALLY spicy food, there was certain fire that was beginning to run amok in the lower abdomen area. Surrendering to my weak stomach’s demands led me to Gordon Ramsay’s Sticky Lemon Chicken. It’s really super easy to make and tastes pretty darn good.

Every bite is a small flavour explosion of lemon followed by hints of honey. Delicious and (more importantly) tummy friendly, it’s a must try for everyone.


Ingredients

5 pieces of chicken (3 leg portions, 2 leg portions)
1 lemon
8 cloves of garlic
¼ cup of water
20 – 30 g of parsley (chopped)
4 tbs of olive oil
4 – 5 tbs of honey
2 tbs of soy sauce
1 tbs of thyme
Salt
Pepper
Chilli powder
 

Directions

Wash the chicken very well, cut the end bone of the chicken legs and set aside.

Squeeze the juice of a quarter piece of lemon, add a teaspoon of pepper, teaspoon of chilli powder, ½ teaspoon of salt to the chicken portions and let it marinade for half an hour.

Peel the garlic cloves, cut them in to halves and set aside.

Add the oil to a skillet and heat up on a medium high flame.

Once the oil has heated up, place chicken portions on to the hot skillet and (using tongs) cook until each side has browned.

Squeeze the juice of a small piece of lemon, add the garlic halves and soy sauce and continue to cook the chicken for about 5 minutes.

Pour the water in to the cooking chicken, place two slices of lemon on top of the chicken, cover the skillet and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the lid of the skillet, add parsley and thyme and cook for about a minute.

Stir in the honey, cook for a couple of minutes and take it off the heat.



Disasters, Warnings and Tips

Use a pair of tongs throughout this whole process.

Tip from Gordon - Cutting off the end of the leg bone helps the chicken to cook fast. It is actually true.

Two slices of lemon is more the number of chicken portions.

I had this with some garlic mashed potato and some crusty baguette. YUMMMMMMM!

Feel free to increase on the honey if you feel the chicken is too zingy.

The chilli powder is only for the marinade.

Game of Thrones is back! And Joffrey is dead! Yay!

I’m not a fan of Gordon Ramsay, but there is an ‘F’ word I like to use to describe this chicken and that is - FANSTASTIC!!!

Crusty baguette is imperative for some dipping action.

Careful. Heated olive oil tends to spit and scald. Yes it is rude like that.

I’m still getting the hang of tongs. Think I have a pair that has a mind of its own.

Feel free to season the chicken as you see fit.

Extract the garlic halves before serving.




Text by Shazzana Hamid