Testing, Testing: Thai Style Chicken

of the couple of food blogs i follow, or recipes i come across that make me go "YES. I AM TRYING THAT." i very rarely actually get around to making them.

this one is different.

thai style chicken legs, from smitten kitchen:

pic from smitten kitchen

aka the first time i ever used fish sauce, a sentiment shared by Deb of SK.

the ingredients listed?

5 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (or flat-leaf parsley if you are cilantro-averse)
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (I accidentally doubled this and can only advise you do the same)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black or white pepper
8 whole chicken legs, split, or 8 drumsticks and 8 thighs (about 5 pounds total)
Thai sweet chili sauce, for serving

of course, i am but one person, so i took one chicken thigh and added it to a dish which had 1 finely chopped garlic clove and significant splashes of fish sauce, olive oil and hoisin sauce, plus large sprinkles of coriander, salt and pepper. i rolled the chicken around in the sauce and whacked it in the oven for about half an hour (until the juices ran clear when poked), occasionally taking it out and splashing the sauce over it a little more.

verdict: delicious. i'd recommend fish sauce and might look for more recipes involving it, cos it has a nice taste and isn't overly fishy. you can find it in supermarkets, but i got mine from one of the asian stores in town on a whim. really delicious, and perfect for a summer dish.

tips: keep the dish covered or the sauce will burn a little. leave the chicken to marinade overnight if you have the time.

serving suggestion: SK had hers with mango coleslaw (of which there is a recipe on her blog), but i had me with potato... cubes? (boiled for a little while then fried in shallow oil. essentially, chips, but in cube shapes) and with mixed pepper and onions, fried, and with the excess sauce added. delish.