A hefty dose of rice vinegar blended with soy sauce and aromatics gave this Filipino dish its characteristic bright flavor and made for a potent marinade. The coconut milk tended to burn under the broiler, so we added it toward the end. If you can’t find bird’s eye chilies (sometimes called Thai chilies), any small chili will do. Stir the coconut milk thoroughly before measuring it. Look for chicken thighs that are uniform in size; if some are smaller than others, begin to check them early and remove them as they come up to temperature.
Notes
- Don’t use regular soy sauce. As the chicken braises, the cooking liquid reduces, concentrating the flavor—and salt. Low-sodium soy sauce produced a broth that was well-seasoned.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups unseasoned rice vinegar
- ¾ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 6 garlic cloves - smashed
- 6 bird’s eye chilies - or other small chilies, halved lengthwise
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs - (3 to 3½ pounds)
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro - chopped
- Steamed white rice - to serve
Instructions
Marinate
- In a large Dutch oven, combine the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, chilies, bay leaves, and peppercorns.
- Add the chicken thighs, submerging them. Cover and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.
Simmer
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high. Reduce to medium-low and cook, turning the thighs occasionally, until the chicken registers 170ºF, 25 to 30 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a medium simmer.
- Heat the broiler with an oven rack 6 inches from the element.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the pot and arrange skin side up on the baking sheet.
- Pat dry with paper towels and set aside.
Sauce
- Strain the cooking liquid, discarding the solids, then skim off the fat.
- Return 1 cup of the defatted liquid to the pot, stir in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer over medium.
- Take the pan off the heat, stir in the cilantro, then cover and set aside.
Finish & Serve
- Broil the chicken until the skin is deeply browned and blackened in spots, 3 to 8 minutes.
- Serve in shallow bowls with steamed white rice, ladling the broth over the rice.
Nutrition
Calories: 1111kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 64gFat: 71gSaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 331mgSodium: 1873mgPotassium: 1227mgFiber: 4gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 996IUVitamin C: 100mgCalcium: 85mgIron: 5mg