Coconut Chicken is definitely a Wilkes Family Favorite. The chicken is marinated and grilled and then covered with a flavorful sticky glaze.
Sticky Coconut Chicken 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, the sauce is cooked until it is almost as thick as tar, but not quite!
Recently my son brought a group of 17 friends home to Oregon for the weekend and requested this for a meal. It was a big hit with all 18 of them.
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 but it would also work with chicken breasts. 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.
Tips for Making Sticky Coconut Chicken
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 pilaf, another family favorite!
Enjoy some other Wilkes family favorites:
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Coconut Chicken Recipe
Sticky Coconut Chicken
Ingredients
Sticky Coconut Chicken or "Tar" Chicken
- 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
Chili Glaze:
- 3/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 2 green onions chopped for garnish
- 1 tsp sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
Sticky Coconut Chicken or "Tar" Chicken
- Marinade chicken in coconut milk, ginger, pepper and red pepper flakes at least one hour
- Grill on barbecue
Chili Glaze:
- Bring above ingredients to a boil over high heat and cook until mixture is reduced and thickened, 5-10 minutes depending on size of pan.
- Spread glaze over the grilled chicken. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds.
Nutrition
Originally posted in 2008
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Melanie
June 27, 2008 at 12:47 pmYum! This sounds delicious. I am bookmarking it to make very soon!
LuAnne
June 30, 2008 at 8:42 amThis 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).
LuAnne
June 30, 2008 at 8:42 amThis 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).
Laurie
July 11, 2008 at 3:44 amI 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.
Laurie
July 11, 2008 at 4:47 amI believe we have a common friend in J. Card of American Mothers. She and my mother are good friends.
Leigh Anne
July 11, 2008 at 6:31 amLaurie »
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!
Jennifer H
July 10, 2009 at 10:24 amI’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!
Sarah
August 7, 2009 at 3:02 pmThis sounds great! All I have is seasoned rice vinegar, would using that still taste the same?
Leigh Anne
August 7, 2009 at 4:57 pmSarah,
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!
Renee Richins
June 9, 2010 at 5:54 pmHoly cow! This was so good! I tried this before and it just didn’t turn out right, but I made it today and I am so glad I tried again because this is good.
Leigh Anne
June 9, 2010 at 8:00 pmGlad it worked out better the second time!
Cathy O
May 28, 2011 at 3:18 pmJust made this tonight and LOVED it. Used light coconut milk and only had thighs with bones in them (removed the skin) and used some drumsticks. Both thighs and drumsticks were awesome. Thank you for the great recipe.
Leigh Anne
May 28, 2011 at 3:37 pmSo glad you enjoyed it – it is one of our all time summer favorites. Will have to try it with drumsticks too.
Paula
September 8, 2011 at 5:27 pmI loved it however, my sauce did not turn out 🙁 Did you ever have trouble with it not burning, but turning dark brown and almost crunchy?
Leigh Anne
September 8, 2011 at 6:21 pmI have had that happen before and that is what it does when it burns. Cook it a little slower and lower heat next time. It’s worth it!
Argie
April 9, 2012 at 7:26 pmMy Father loves cooking. I will suggest to him this recipe. He would love to have this. I am not a good cook. But I do want to learn. Maybe this one would enable me to have the needed steps.
🙂
Rachelle
August 13, 2012 at 6:10 pmLeigh Anne, this was wonderful my whole fam (kiddos + Mr) loved the chicken! I marinated it over night then grilled it off. I made it gluten free using what little tamari and Bragg Liquid Aminos I had for the sauce. It’s a keeper, glad I saw it via pinterest. I’ll be blogging & linking back soon! 🙂
Leigh Anne
August 14, 2012 at 6:21 amSo glad you found it and enjoyed it. It is one of our family’s most favorite dinners!! Looking forward to checking out some of your gluten free recipes.
Erin T
March 7, 2013 at 7:27 pmJust made this tonight, and it was a HUGE hit! Served it with steamed broccoli. Yum! Yum! Yum!
Leigh Anne
March 7, 2013 at 8:21 pmI am so glad it is one of our family’s all time favorite recipes!
Marry An
June 14, 2015 at 3:08 amWonderful. I try make it. Thank you!
Carrie @Frugal Foodie Mama
June 16, 2015 at 12:39 pmThis looks absolutely delicious! 🙂 I am a huge fan of using chicken thighs in dishes too! The meat is so flavorful, and it is so budget friendly too.
Meg @ The Housewife in Training Files
June 17, 2015 at 6:05 pmI can see why this is a family favorite! That sauce alone I want on a spoon!
Leigh Anne
June 18, 2015 at 10:42 amMeg, The sauce is the best part!!
Alpha Carina
June 18, 2015 at 7:28 amI have a feeling I’m gonna love this recipe. 🙂 There’s always cuts of chicken in the freezer and cans of coconut milk in the cupboard, so this will be the next new recipe for me to try…just as soon as I get a bottle of rice vinegar from the grocery. 😉
Leigh Anne
June 18, 2015 at 10:42 amAlpha, I have even just used regular white vinegar when I didn’t have rice vinegar and it worked fine.
Diana Melnyk
June 19, 2015 at 1:33 pmNo one else asked this so I guess I am the lame on here but do you add the marinade (coconut milk and seasoning) to the chili sauce recipe?
Leigh Anne
June 19, 2015 at 5:30 pmDiana, Not sure I understand your question. The coconut milk and seasoning marinade is thrown after you remove the chicken from it to cook it. Hope that helps.
heather @french press
June 19, 2015 at 1:46 pmwhatever you call it, it sounds delicious, and soon to be one of our family favorites too
Kathi Soth
December 20, 2015 at 7:49 amI would like to cook this in the oven instead of grilling. Would you have any suggestions as to how to do this?