We picked up this cookbook Ready or Not!: 150+ Make-Ahead, Make-Over, and Make-Now recipes by Nom Nom Paleo by Michelle Tam and Henry Fong years ago at Costco. Despite the fact that we are definitely not paleo nor do we strive to be! We’ve flipped through it loads but definitely have not actually tried as many recipes from it as I’d like. Since it’s one of the few cookbooks from our large collection that Rock decided to bring over to Saudi, I figure we should finally put it to use.
This recipe is super easy and uses just a handful of ingredients. I always have Thai curry paste on hand but I only ever use it for curry (shocker!) so I thought I’d give this a shot. The chicken turned out great and even the kids loved it!
Makes 4 servings.
1 cup full-fat coconut milk / 2 tbsp Thai curry paste (I used red but I think green would be really good too!) / 2 tsp fish sauce / 1 tsp sea salt (adjust to taste) / 2 limes / 1 kg to 1.5 kg bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs
Measure out the coconut milk in a measuring cup and then to that same cup just add the curry paste, fish sauce, salt, and the zest and juice of 1 lime. Mix well to combine and you can give it a little taste to see if you want to add anymore salt.
In a large ziplock bag or a large bowl, mix the chicken thighs with the marinade making sure to thoroughly coat the chicken. Refrigerate for up to one day or if you don’t have time you can just keep going. I think ideally though of course you give it some time to marinate – I started marinating mine in the morning for dinner that day.
Heat the oven to 425 F (or 400 F on convection mode) and place the chicken on a wire rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet. I have a roasting pan that comes with a wire rack that fits in it so I used that. Arrange the chicken in a single layer with the skin side down.
Roast in the oven for 20 minutes and then flip the chicken to be skin side up and rotate the pan 180 degrees.
Roast for another 20 minutes or so. The skin should be a bit browned and if you check with a meat thermometer, internal temperature should be 165 F.
Plate the chicken and then sprinkle over the zest of your remaining lime. We didn’t have any leftovers (…!) but the book says leftovers can be reheated, eaten cold or shredded for salads or soups which all sound like good ideas.