Maple, Lime and Ginger Chicken

4.14 from 15 votes

Sticky, sweet and fragrant, this chicken is easy to put together and utterly delicious.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: ginger chicken, lime and ginger chicken, maple lime and ginger chicken, soy ginger chicken

Servings:

Calories: 245kcal

½ cup pineapple juice
2 tbs ketchup tomato sauce
2 tbs light soy sauce
2 tbs maple syrup pure, or use honey. Don’t use maple-flavoured syrup, it’s full of synthetic flavouring which will ruin the dish
1 tbs dark brown sugar
1 inch fresh ginger a thumb-sized piece, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic minced
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 lime zest and juice
1.3 lb chicken tenderloins or boneless, skinless thighs
3 sweet potatoes small to medium, scrubbed and cut into wedges
1 tbs olive oil
½ tsp ground cumin extra
4 sprigs fresh parsley torn
1 red chilli finely chopped, for garnish (optional)

Mix the everything except the chicken and sweet potatoes in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Cook until the mixture reduces by half, then remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Set your oven to 400°F/200˚C, combination steam setting. If you have variable steam settings, use 80% or 100%. If not, don't worry! Just set to combi steam at the correct temperature and the oven will work out the humidity.
Mix the chicken with the sauce in a snug-fitting tray or baking dish. Toss the sweet potatoes with the oil and extra cumin and place in a single layer on another tray (I use the perforated tray which came with my steam oven).
Put the sweet potatoes into the oven. If you’re using chicken thighs, put them in now (potatoes on bottom shelf and chicken above), and cook everything for approximately 20-25 mins until it’s all tender and browning at the edges. If you’re using tenderloins, cook the sweet potatoes for 10 minutes first, then add the tray of chicken and cook for a further 12-15 minutes.
Sprinkle the chicken with parsley and chilli if using, then serve hot with steamed rice or tucked into a piece of flatbread, with the sweet potato wedges on the side.

Adapted from the ‘Sticky Hawaiian Chicken’ recipe in Taste.com.au Magazine (March 2015 issue).
Though the photographed version was made with chicken tenderloins, the first time I cooked this was with thigh fillets. It's great both ways and just depends on your preference. I’ve given cooking times below for both cuts.
We ate ours with rice (steamed in the oven first then covered and set aside to keep warm while the chicken and sweet potatoes got combi-steamed). Couscous, quinoa, millet or some flatbread and salad would also be worthy accompaniments.
The nutrition information for this recipe is given for chicken tenderloins rather than thighs.