My Kids Ate It: Hoisin Baked Chicken

It’s been a little while since I posted a recipe in the “My Kids Ate It” category on this blog. That’s because I didn’t make anything for dinner that both my kids would eat for weeks and weeks and weeks! Believe me — I’ve been paying close attention. And no, burgers and pizza don’t count. My husband and I were at the end of our ropes with the whining and complaining, so I decided to go back to an old stand by that I knew both kids would eat: Hoisin Baked Chicken.

If you’ve read my weekly bento posts for a while, you may have seen these delicious drumsticks featured in a lunch now and then. The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks: SOS! The Six O’Clock Scramble to the Rescue by Aviva Goldfarb. Goldfarb’s recipes are like the perfect storm of family cooking. They are interesting enough for adults to enjoy, but somehow — magically — my kids eat most of them.

These sweet and spicy drumsticks are a particular favorite. They kids actually say “YAY!” when they see them on the dinner table and they enjoy them cold in their lunches the next day too. Zach and I are also big fans. They’re tasty and super easy to make, especially if I remember to throw the chicken pieces into the marinade the night before we plan to eat them. This recipe is also a great candidate to prepare ahead and freeze for quick dinners later. If I find a good deal on drumsticks I’ll freeze them raw in bags with the marinade. The meat absorbs lots of flavor from the sauce as it thaws.

Hoisin Baked Chicken from SOS! The Six O’Clock Scramble to the Rescue
(recipe reprinted with author’s permission)

• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 3-4 pounds chicken drumsticks or thighs

Whisk together hoisin sauce, vinegar and soy sauce. Put sauce mixture in a zip-lock bag with chicken pieces and marinate 2-24 hours.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Remove chicken from marinade and place it on the baking pan skin side down. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip chicken and baste with some of the reserved marinade. Bake chicken another 20 minutes, then put it under the broiler for 5 minutes to crisp the skin a bit.

I also cook these on the grill sometimes and that works well too.