A min-maxed meal prep. Cover chicken thighs with store bought hot sauce and roast in the oven for a low effort, high reward chicken and rice.
Time: 3/5
Lunch for a week, in an hour from start to finish
Effort: 2/5
Pour hot sauce on chicken, then outsource the actual work to the oven.
Hot Stuff
A side quest I have been pursuing with this blog is the search for the minimal amount of effort needed for a chicken and rice meal prep that is still acceptably tasty. I started off with a near miss using nothing but barbecue sauce to marinade chicken thighs, then landed a solid shot when experimenting with instant ramen seasoning.
The third instalment of this series is an experiment using nothing but some Nando’s peri peri sauce to marinade some chicken thighs (the garlic sauce, to be exact). There’s plenty of umami and heat to keep things interesting, as well as some acidity to tenderise the meat. I reckoned the hot sauce would be bold enough to hold the line alone.
I’m happy to report that it worked, more or less as intended. The only caveat is that the flavour of the hot sauce mostly ended up on the skin and in the drippings, with comparatively little reaching the meat. That isn’t a big problem though, as it is easily remediated by spooning over plenty of the drippings over the rice.
After so many chicken and rice recipes, I think I’m starting to get the hang of min-maxing this format. And this insight opens a lot of doors for low effort cooking: hungover but want food? Long day at work? Down with the flu? Dump hot sauce over chicken and roast, eat a nutritious home-cooked meal instead of expensive takeout.
If nothing else, I hope this recipe can be an inspiration for you to try something new, break the monotony of meal prep, and enrich your dinner rotation with a low effort option!
Posts since the last recipe that was actually served with rice: 0
Dramatis Personae
Served 6.
- 1kg Boneless skin on chicken thighs
Still my favourite form of meal prep protein, after so many years of chicken and rice. The skin crisps up, and there’s no bone taking up space in the oven and stealing heat from the meat. I get my chicken thighs frozen in a resealable bag, which lets me marinade right inside the same bag after defrosting to save me some dishes.
- 6 tbsp hot sauce
Just because I used Nando’s doesn’t mean you have to. Tabasco, sriracha, Frank’s, use what you like (or what you have on hand). However, depending on how you want the chicken to taste, you might want to make adjustments like extra acid, or some additional sweetness.
- Salt to taste
I really can’t specify amounts here, because it depends entirely on the salt and spiciness balance of your hot sauce. If your hot sauce can’t supply enough salt without making the chicken inedible spicy, you will have to adjust the salt level independently.
- 1200g vegetables
Always eat your veggies! I have some Indian lettuce plus some odds and ends, which I am going to stir fry, then drain off any additional liquid before mixing in some Chinese XO sauce to maximise flavour.
Executive summary
- Marinade chicken thighs in hot sauce and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, begin by starting the rice cooker.
- Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and parchment paper.
- Roast chicken for 30 minutes, skin side up.
- In the meantime, prepare and cook the vegetables. Once wilted, drain excess liquid from wok and toss with XO sauce.
- Assemble and serve.
Play by Play
Last things first. Salt and hot sauce goes over chicken. Massage to coat, refrigerate overnight.
Here I am the next day. Rice cooker has been turned on, so I shift my attention to the oven and the chicken. Foil and parchment means no cleanup and no sticking, respectively.
Always wash your veggies! The chicken is in the oven, so I have hands free to prepare the vegetables.
Into the skillet. It always looks like there’s too much vegetables, but they’ll cook down a ton. Drain off the excess liquid before tossing with the XO sauce to avoid dilution the precious umami flavour.
How nice! The chicken was done around the same time, so it’s time to assemble and serve.
Yum! The skin and the drippings, I’ll say that’s where the highlight of this meal prep is.
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