Caribbean Baked Chicken With Sweet Tamarind Sauce

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Latin cooking, especially Mexican and Caribbean, typically highlights the tamarind's sugary side, using it in sweet drinks, candies, and desserts. Asian recipes take advantage of the sour side, adding it to fiery stir-fry sauces and other savory dishes.
chicken recipes

In this Caribbean recipe, I decided to go a little sweet and a little spicy. Pineapple and fresh mango bring fruity balance - and add to the tropical theme of the dish.
Note: You can purchase fresh tamarind pods and make your own juice (or "tamarind water," as it is sometimes called), or you can find prepared juice in cans in Asian or Latin markets and in the international section of some supermarkets. Tamarind "pulp" also can be purchased in compressed blocks, ready to mix with water.
The pulp of the fruit is very sticky and needs to soak in water before being pressed through a fine sieve to form a mush. The pressed pulp is then combined with the soaking liquid to create the juice.
If you choose to make your own using fresh fruit, simply crack open the pod with your fingers and pull out the pulp. Remove the stringy fibers that run the length of it and squeeze out the hard seeds inside. Soak about 1/2 cup of pulp (5-6 pods) in 1-1/2 cups of water for two hours. Press the pulp through a sieve into a bowl and add most of the soaking liquid. When stirred together, the consistency should be a bit thinner than canned tomato sauce.
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the Chicken
  • 1 whole chicken (about 3-1/2 lbs), skin removed, cut into 8 serving pieces
  • juice of half a lime
  • sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 small onion, sliced vertically into thin strips
  • 8 oz pineapple chunks (from an 8-oz can in 100% juice), juice reserved
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 3 tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
  • fresh mango slices, for serving
For the Tamarind Sauce
  • 1/2 cup tamarind juice (may be sold as "water" in cans)
  • 4 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp reserved pineapple juice
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1 cayenne chile, finely chopped
  • freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
For the Chicken
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking dish with aluminum foil.
  2. Place the chicken pieces in a single layer in the dish and squeeze the lime juice on top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and coriander.
  3. Scatter the onion strips and pineapple chunks around and on top of the chicken. Pour the chicken broth around the edges.
  4. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over, cover again, and bake 20 minutes longer.
  5. Turn the chicken again and baste with the tamarind sauce (recipe follows). Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes longer. Baste once more before removing the chicken from the pan.
To serve, place the chicken, onions, and pineapple on a platter and scatter the cilantro on top. Garnish with mango slices, and pass the remaining tamarind sauce at the table.
For the Tamarind Sauce
  1. Combine the first 7 ingredients (through chile) in a small saucepan. Bring to a light boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes.
  2. Remove from the heat and season with pepper.                                                                                                                                          



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