Asian Zing Chicken Thighs

The best part about living in California, being close to the coast, and not getting snow or extreme weather is that I hardly ever get sick. I think I've been sick maybe twice since I have lived here in the past five years. Well, I think I may have jinxed that because the last two weeks I have been so tired. Not just tired but extremely exhausted. I thought I was low on iron or something (I still have a doctors appointment on the 20th just in case) but I think it's because I haven't been feeling well. Last Friday I had a hoarse voice with a bronchitis-like cough and yesterday I had a hoarse voice, headache and was literally on the couch all day. I guess sometimes our body just needs that break and I'm pretty sure I never give myself a break. My plan was to write this blog days ago but because of not feeling well, I didn't even get on my laptop at all yesterday and now I'm feeling pretty good today so I figured I can finish the blog :) 

A few days ago I made these Asian Zing Chicken Thighs that were actually really good. I struggled initially with not burning the sauce so I ended up making it twice. The second time, before it could burn, I actually poured it on top of the chicken while it was in the oven and it turned out SO good. If you want your kitchen to smell amazing all night, this is what you want to make! The original recipe can be found HERE. I used soy sauce instead of soya sauce and 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar instead of 1 tbsp rice vinegar and 1 tbsp rice wine. We also used chicken thighs instead of drumsticks, we did not use Sriracha sauce and used garlic powder instead of crushed garlic. We also used ground ginger instead of ginger juliennes. 

Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp dried red chili flakes
1 tbsp sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Take the chicken thighs and massage them with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. While that's cooking, in a bowl add soy sauce and rice wine vinegar and mix until incorporated. In a pan, add the sesame oil and let it sit until hot. Add the garlic powder and ground ginger and mix for a few seconds. If it's too long, it will burn. Add in the crushed red chili flakes and mix for a few seconds. Pour the soy sauce mixture into the pan and keep stirring until it becomes a syrup. Flip the chicken after 15 minutes, pour the sauce on top and cook for 15 more minutes. The chicken should be done and the house should be smelling amazing. Top with sesame seeds if you want and serve with rice. The sauce may burn a little bit in the oven and that is OK.