Quick And Easy Spicy Blueberry Chicken

Sometimes you just gotta experiment with the weird things in life...

Before today, I did not know that blueberries and chicken go together. To me it was as foreign as chicken with chocolate or Maggi curry with Milo (yes I'm looking at you guys). What started out with another one of mom's weird experiments in the kitchen turned into one of the most amazing tasting chicken I've tried. Prying the recipe out of her was a challenge tho, not because she was protective of it or whatever; it's because most of the time she wouldn't remember what she threw in there in the first place. When asked the answer would always be, "sekda pa-pa..bawang dengan cili jak" (nothing, just onions and chilies). This is as close as I'm getting it and I'm sharing it with you guys.

But what makes it work? If you're thinking fruity chicken is not your thing, don't worry. Although the recipe calls for blueberry jam, the resulting dish does not taste like something you'd spread on bread. Instead, it adds a light, tangy sweetness without empowering the entire dish. Usually some would use honey in their dishes to achieve this but the usage of the jam adds a totally new flavour profile to it. Of course, I am never one for sweet foods (as in, dishes which are meant to be savoury but is loaded with sugar) so to balance the flavour profile, we added tartness with the lemon and cranked up the spicy level with them chili flakes and let me tell you; perfect harmony.

Anyways, have a go at it yourself. The prep takes minutes then all you have to do is pop it into the oven and wait. No flipping halfway through, no chopping of anything, and definitely no fuss :)

P.s. wear gloves when rubbing the marinade onto the chicken. My hands were burning for hours afterwards...lol

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Ingredients

• 4 whole chicken legs

• 2 tbsp of chili flakes

• 4 tbsp plain yoghurt

• 2 tbsp blueberry jam

• Zest of a lemon

• Juice of ½ a lemon

• A pinch of nutmeg

• A pinch of MSG

• Salt to taste

• Approx 60g butter

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Method

1. Mix all of the ingredients except for the butter and rub it all over the chicken. Leave to marinade for at least half an hour.

2. Pre-heat your oven to 200°C.

3. Place the chicken skin-side up in a cast iron skillet or any oven safe vessel you may have. Place pats of butter on top of the chicken (don't mix them in).

4. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Serve hot and enjoy!