Back from the dead: Sweet Soy Chicken Drumsticks

Exams are FINALLY drawing to a close - which means I can FINALLY resume blogging about the stuff I actually care about in my life.

Note the "drawing to a close" part - I'm not quite done.

Nevertheless, I made this delectable chicken dish for myself during my period of burying myself beneath mountains of textbooks. As time slowly passed by, and I was ever edging closer to my exam dates, I realised that time was indeed precious, and I could really not afford to spend hours preparing meals or watching over the stove just so I could feed myself.

Funny thing is (and to make things worse), come exam time, your stomach turns itself into this neverending pit perpetually starved of food.

That's when I resorted to learning how to use the oven.

The preparation of this dish seriously took less than 5 minutes. Seriously.

Honey, soy and a bit of garlic. Let it marinate anywhere between 30mins and overnight. I made mine a day ahead. I knew I'd be home the next day to make it anyway. My textbooks weren't going to let me out of my room anytime soon anyway.

Next, just pop it in the oven and go read a book or watch MasterChef or whatever for 40 minutes, and come back to to find yourself salivating at the sight of these babies:

Looking at the leftover marinade, I decided it was too good to waste and instead of pouring it down the sink. So I spooned a little out into a pot and decided to braise a bit of chinese cabbage while I rested the drumsticks.
I also happened to find a bit of coriander in my vegie tray, so I popped that in too. In retrospect, I thought that was a brilliant decision. *Self Hi-5*

Serve the chicken drumsticks on a bed of braised cabbage, and feel free to reduce the sauce a little more before drizzling it over the dish. I just skipped that part because the smell of the chicken was already driving me nuts.

Good food seems to have that straaange effect on me.

Sweet Soy Chicken Drumstick served on a bed of Braised Chinese Cabbage
Serves 2.5 people

Buy:
5 Chicken Drumsticks
1/2 cup Mushroom Dark Soy
2 tblsp Regular Dark Soy
1 tblsp Honey
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 tsp Mirin
2 tsp Sesame Oil

1 small bunch Coriander, chopped finely
3 large leaves of Chinese Cabbage, chopped roughly
Coriander leaves, to garnish

Cook:

1. In a large bowl, combine dark soy, honey, garlic, mirin and sesame altogether to form a sauce. Honey should be well mixed in.
2. Add chicken and coat thoroughly in sauce.
   
3. Wrap with cling film and refridgerate for at least 20minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
5. Line a shallow dish with foil, and place drumsticks neatly on dish. Keep leftover marinade
   
6. Place dish in oven for 30 minutes. Baste the chicken with leftover marinade after 20minutes.
7. After thirty minutes, grill chicken at 200 degrees for 7-10minutes. Remove and set aside to rest
8. In a pot spoon out leftover marinade and bring to simmer.
9. Add chinese cabbage and cook with lid on.
10. Remove from heat once cabbage is wilted and stalk is soft and semi-transparent.
11. Stir through chopped coriander
12. Serve drumsticks on the bed of chinese cabbage. Reduce remaining sauce over heat if desired and spoon sauce over the chicken.
13. Garnish with coriander leaves