Easy Sweet Chili Marinade Recipe

Trying out different recipes from all over the world helps to explore all sorts of tastes and flavours. Mixing up traditional dishes from different regions makes cooking and eating exiting. Like many, I love Asian dishes but try to make my own. I once thought that putting the ingredients together would be complicated, but to make something basic isn't that difficult or time consuming. Instead of grabbing a takeaway or a ready made sauce in a jar, I tried out this recipe as a bit of fun for Chinese New Year.

Making this marinade for your chosen meat can be simple. You don't have to leave it in the fridge overnight as half an hour would be enough.

Marinading meat just means 'marrying' together different flavours by mixing in a bowl, then coating the raw prepared meat. It then needs a little time to soak in so that the meat is tender and succulent with the flavour.

Whatever meat you wish to marinade, it will benefit as the coating or glaze is absorbed into it. It works for any type of cooking from oven cooking to barbecuing.

This sweet chili marinade is for my sticky chicken dish, which I served with sticky coconut rice. It can be made for any meat and be served with any rice or noodles.

Ingredients

To coat 4 chicken fillets

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons runny honey
• 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce (hot or mild)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)
• 1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice

Many of these ingredients can be found in your store cupboard at home, so it really is simple. These ingredients just need to be mixed together to form a glaze for the chicken.

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade
• Dice up the skinless chicken fillets using a sharp knife
• Put them in a bowl and coat them in the marinade
• Cover the bowl in cling film and put the fridge for 30 minutes
• In a griddle pan, heat up 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• Place the chicken in the pan and seal
• Once the chicken has browned, place in an ovenproof dish and cover with tin foil
• Cook in the oven for 10 minutes
• Once the chicken is in the oven, place 2 cups of sticky or basmati rice in a pan
• Cover with boiling water and 1 cup of coconut milk (or 2 tablespoons of coconut powdered milk)
• Bring to the boil then turn down the heat to gently simmer and cover the pan
• Once the rice and chicken are cooked through, place on plates or serving bowls and enjoy with chopsticks!

It is a good meal to serve up to all of the family, as it is sweet and doesn't have to be spicy for the children. It is also quite versatile and you can add other ingredients if you want to change it. If you don't want it to be so sweet, cut down the honey and squeeze in a little lemon. Or add sesame seeds and ginger and chili flakes, depending on your tastes. You can then serve with plain rice or medium thick noodles.