Sticky Coconut Chicken is definitely a Wilkes Family Favorite. It is one of our favorite ways to grill chicken in the summer. We really don’t call it Sticky Coconut Chicken at our house though.
We call it “Tar” Chicken. It earned it’s nickname from the sauce that you put on the chicken – you cook it until it is almost as thick as tar!
I don’t know where this recipe came from. It’s been in my recipe collection for years and it is a good one. The recipe calls for chicken thighs which is what I use all the time. Not only does it make it an inexpensive meal to serve and a great one for parties but the dark meat makes them nice and moist.
The chicken is marinated in coconut milk with some ginger and red pepper flakes. You can control how spicy it is by the amount of flakes you add to the marinade and to the sauce.
Watch the sauce closely as it thickens – it can go from “just right” to “burned” very quickly. (Believe me, I have burned it more than once!) I usually cook it in a frying pan so the liquid level is shallower and it cooks faster that way. You want it thick but not so thick that you can’t spread it easily – not quite as thick as “tar”!
After glazing the chicken we like to pour the extra glaze over our rice – yum!
I always serve it with rice – last week I used a brown basmati rice from Trader Joe’s.
Sticky Coconut Chicken or “Tar” Chicken
6-8 boneless chicken thighs
3/4 cup canned coconut milk (I usually am cooking about 10-12 thighs so I just use the whole can)
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Marinade chicken in coconut milk, ginger, pepper and red pepper flakes at least one hour. Grill on barbecue.
Chili Glaze:
3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Bring above ingredients to a boil over high heat and cook until mixture is reduced and thickened. 8-10 minutes depending on the size of your pan. Glaze both sides of chicken and serve.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Yum! This sounds delicious. I am bookmarking it to make very soon!
This recipe was wonderful. Made it for Sunday dinner. I did have trouble with the sauce. I had to make it a second time. The marinaded chicken would even be great without the sauce (if you are not a sauce person or counting calories).
This recipe was wonderful. Made it for Sunday dinner. I did have trouble with the sauce. I had to make it a second time. The marinated chicken would even be great without the sauce (if you are not a sauce person or counting calories).
I made this and it was a huge favorite with my family. My kids said, “this is the best chicken ever”. I have chicken marinating in coconut milk as we speak. I can’t wait for dinner. Thanks for sharing.
I believe we have a common friend in J. Card of American Mothers. She and my mother are good friends.
Laurie »
Yeah! I am so glad they liked it. I love it when I find a new receipe that everyone loves! Makes life so much easier. We’ve had it twice in the last week!
I’ve had this recipe bookmarked since you posted it and just last night got around to making it. Holy Cow. I should not have waited. This was a huge hit with the whole family. We will definitely make this again! Thanks for sharing!
This sounds great! All I have is seasoned rice vinegar, would using that still taste the same?
Sarah,
I don’t see why you couldn’t use the rice vinegar. Sometimes when I am using a recipe that calls for rice vinegar and I am out I just use regular vinegar so they are pretty interchangeable – Enjoy!