Home-Cooked: PerutBesi's Version of Mango Chicken

What inspires me to cook most of the time are people whom I love. My mum's off day is on Mondays, so as much as I could, I would want to spend Mondays cooking & eating at home with my family; home-cooked meals are the best after all!

We had quite a feast last night since I did some 'supermarket-sweep' last week. Chicken wasn't too expensive & so were the mangoes! It was totally random as I've never really bought mangoes for cooking, but I just thought of cooking mango chicken for the 1st time in my life from scratch!

I had NO clue how to cook mango chicken. Most of the time, the mango chicken that I had at restaurants were either deep-fried & have some gravy topped with fresh mangoes or those Thai-style green mangoes kerabu with chicken.

I wanted a not too Chinese yet not too Western chicken dish, fragrant, rich, & yet without frying as the cooking method cos the entire apartment would be oily. My best friend in the kitchen is the oven, but because I was back at my parents' house, all we had was the oven toaster! It had to cook up a miracle somehow!

I'm gonna share with you my successful experiment :D Brought some over to my cell group member's house & he said it's yummy! *woots*

* recipe below serves 4 persons*

Ingredients for the sauce/marinade:
1 ripe yellow mango, cut into small pieces [I used the waterlily mango]
A pinch of dried rosemary [If you have fresh ones, that'll be even better!]
A pinch of dried thyme
A pinch of salt
1 - 1 1/2 tsp of sugar [It depends on how sweet you want your 'sauce' to be]
2 - 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar [I just wanted a slight tangy/fresh-sourish taste. I think you can have orange juice or lemon juice as well, but maybe half the amount]
2 drops of Worcester sauce
3-5 drops of sesame seed oil [I wanted the smoky fragrance...brings the dish to another level in my opinion]
1 tsp olive oil 

Ingredients (main):
1 ripe but firm yellow mango, cut into larger pieces [I prefer larger pieces as it gives some 'bite'/variety of texture]
1/2 a medium-sized chicken, cleaned, chopped into approximately 6 pieces & lightly marinated with salt & pepper

Equipment:
Blender/Food processor
Oven
Mixing bowl
Aluminum foil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven at around 200°C for 10 minutes.
2. Place all the ingredients of the marinade into the blender & blend 'til it becomes a thick sauce. You may adjust the taste of your sauce accordingly.

3. Place the chicken in the mixing bowl & pour the marinade/sauce over the chicken. Toss & mix well, ensuring the all the pieces of chicken are well-coated with the sauce. Let it 'marinate' for at least 10 minutes (the longer the better!)

4. Place the pieces of chicken onto the aluminum foil & spoon some/all of the marinade onto the chicken. [It's really up to you, whether or not you want more gravy]

Don't these remind you of durians? :D 

Maybe I should bake durian chicken someday! Hohoho...

5. Wrap the chicken with the foil. Bake the chicken at 200°C for 20 minutes/until it is cooked.
6. Unwrap the chicken & pour out the gravy from the foil wrap into a bowl. Set the gravy aside.
7. Place the chicken with the foil now unwrapped (leaving the chicken 'exposed') back into the hot oven.
8. Bake 'til the chicken skin turns golden brown & if possible, crispy! It should take another 5-8 minutes for the magic to take place.

9. Remove the baked chicken from the foil & place it on a plate.
10. Place the mangoes on top of the chicken & drizzle the gravy over the mangoes & chicken pieces.

The chicken dish is finally ready to be served & enjoyed! I found the chicken very fragrant! The gravy was luscious, smooth & well-balanced in sweetness, savory & a slight tangy taste from the cider. When eaten together with the freshly cut mangoes, ah, it was just music in my mouth!

My recipe may not be 100% accurate as I go by "feel" most of the time. If you try it, I hope it'll turn out great as well! Enjoy!

Note: I'm looking forward to participate in my 1st cooking competition this weekend i.e. Philips Cooking Challenge @ Empire Shopping Gallery! I wonder who my partner will be & what we'll be cooking since it's all by drawing lots...*nervous yet excited* Keep me in prayer for an enjoyable time & favor for success!


In an experimental mode,