My husband and I discovered how amazing the combination of Chinese Five Spice powder and chiles in adobo sauce is at a tapas bar we used to frequent when we lived in Pennsylvania. From the first time their Chinese Five Spice pork tenderloin with a Chipotle Buerre Blanc sauce was ordered, we were hooked. And my husband ordered it every single time we visited that restaurant. Seeing as how I had some chiles in adobo frozen and just waiting to be used (click here for my post on how to freeze leftover chiles in adobo sauce), I decided to come up with a tasty Crock Pot recipe combining chicken thighs and my husband's favorite flavor combination. Chicken thighs are one of my favorite meats to cook in the Crock Pot. They just seem suited to slow roasting, not to mention it is one of the cheapest cuts of chicken you can buy. ;)
*Please note, I did have some awesome step-by-step photos for this recipe, but I somehow managed to erase almost all of them from my memory card before I had downloaded them to my laptop. Yeah, BIG fail. :P *
What you will need:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 15oz can of tomato sauce
1 cube of chiles in adobo sauce, thawed (or 1 chile & 2 tbsp of sauce from the can, blended)
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp of Chinese Five Spice Powder
2 tbsp of brown sugar
4 chicken thighs
salt & pepper, to taste
This recipe is ridiculously easy. First, remove the thick skins from the chicken thighs. This is easiest to do if they are just still slightly frozen. Just grab up underneath the skin and pull. It should come off in one large piece. Place the thighs (even if they are slightly frozen still) into the slow cooker.
Next? Just dump everything else in- the onion, garlic, tomato sauce, chiles in adobo, cider vinegar, Chinese Five Spice, and brown sugar. Mix well, making sure the chicken thighs are well coated. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. During the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, taste the sauce and season accordingly with salt and pepper.
The result is a spicy, sweet, & smoky chicken thigh with meat that just falls off the bone. I simply served the chicken and sauce over rice with a dollop of sour cream on the side to tame some of the heat. You could also serve it with some yummy slices of avocado.
This recipe serves 4.
Five Spiced Adobo Crock Pot Chicken Thighs
by
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5-6 hours
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 15oz can of tomato sauce
- 1 cube of chiles in adobo sauce, thawed (or 1 chile & 2 tbsp of sauce from the can, blended)
- 1/3 cup cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp of Chinese Five Spice Powder
- 2 tbsp of brown sugar
- 4 chicken thighs
- salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
First, remove the thick skins from the chicken thighs. This is easiest to do if they are just still slightly frozen. Just grab up underneath the skin and pull. It should come off in one large piece. Place the thighs (even if they are slightly frozen still) into the slow cooker.
Next? Just dump everything else in- the onion, garlic, tomato sauce, chiles in adobo, cider vinegar, Chinese Five Spice, and brown sugar. Mix well, making sure the chicken thighs are well coated.
Cook on low for 5-6 hours. During the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, taste the sauce and season accordingly with salt and pepper.
I simply served the chicken and sauce over rice with a dollop of sour cream on the side to tame some of the heat. You could also serve it with some yummy slices of avocado.
