Pulled Brown Sugar Chicken
There are, naturally, plenty of Golden State Warrior fans to be found out here.
I’ve kinda become one myself for various reasons.
First, one of their starting power forwards, Draymond Green, went to my alma-mater Michigan State University. In Spartan country, we have a saying of “We Bleed Green”meaning that no matter what happens or where we go, we’ll always be Spartans and the ‘green’ (from our school colors of green & white) will always flow through our veins. I tend to follow college athletics more closely than the pros, but if there’s a Spartan on the team, I’ll usually be rooting for them to win by default.
Yeah, it’s that serious.
The other reason I tend to root for Golden State is that I just like the Curry family; Golden State’s point guard Stephen, his wife Ayesha, and their two kids. Lord knows they’re an attractive bunch, but I also like that Steph and Ayesha have been together since they were kids and by all appearances, seem happily married. I’m sure most of us sports fans remember the post-game press conference a little over two years or so ago when Steph brought their eldest daughter Riley with him in front of the cameras and she completely stole the spotlight with her charisma and spunk. That was so cute to me.
After that press conference, I noticed a definite spike in the branding of Steph Curry as a ‘family man’, with a brighter spotlight on his wife and kids and the dynamic they have as a family. As it turns out, Ayesha Curry is a foodie and a lover of cooking and baking, which, is another detail about her that makes me a fan. She recently opened a pop-up restaurant to showcase her cooking skills, landed her own show on Food Network, and this past fall released her very own cookbook, “The Seasoned Life.”
As both a GSW and Curry family appreciator, (and an avid cookbook collector) I knew that I wanted the book. My older sister made it a birthday present for me and as soon as it arrived in the mail from Amazon, I immediately started thumbing threw it for the first recipe to try out.
You guys know me well enough to know that it was DEFINITELY gonna be something with the word ‘chicken’ in it. But I do think that even if it wasn’t my favorite protein, I still would’ve picked this dish first. In the recipe notes, Ayesha herself says that if there is any recipe that someone has to try from the book, it’s this one. Upon testing that theory, I gotta say that I totally understand why.
The title may be somewhat misleading or off-putting; for some people brown sugar with chicken may sound like a clash of ingredients and flavors that just shouldn’t mix, but au contraire. The brown sugar is but one of the ingredients in one of the best damn sauces I’ve EVER had; the sweetness is balanced with soy sauce, fresh ginger and garlic. It friggin works. Trust me.
The chicken first gets seared over the stove,then baked in the oven until it’s fall apart tender and the sauce has thickened into syrupy, sticky, sweet/salty/slightly spicy stuff that is honestly delicious enough to slurp up all on its own with a spoon.
I mean, my GOD, is it good.
Ayesha hit a solid three pointer, Curry-style with this chicken. It’s officially received the Cooking is My Sport Stamp of Approval. So, I guess she can say that now she’s *really* got it made. Smile.
Linking to Fiesta Friday #157, co-hosted this week by Andrea @ Cooking with a Wallflower and Su @ Su’s Healthy Living.
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Pulled Brown Sugar Chicken
Recipe Adapted from “The Seasoned Life” by Ayesha Curry
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Ingredients
- 3 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Garlic powder & onion powder
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
- 1 heaping tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- About 2 stalks of green onion, chopped
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Season both sides of the chicken generously with the kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter with oil over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken in the pot (working in two batches if need be) until both sides are browned, about 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate when they are done and cover with foil.
Add the onions to the pot and saute until they are translucent and softened. Halfway through, add the minced garlic and continue to cook until the garlic becomes fragrant—don’t let it burn. Pour the chicken broth into the pot and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom bits up with a wooden spoon.
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, dark brown sugar and ginger. Pour the sauce into the Dutch oven and let it cook with the onions and garlic for about 2-5 minutes until sauce has slightly thickened.
Add the chicken back to the pot, cover with lid (or aluminum foil) and place in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to bake until the chicken is tender and can be pulled apart with a fork and the sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes more.
When chicken is done, sprinkle with green onion and serve atop rice if desired.
This looks SO delicious!! I’m making it!
Awesome! Thanks Josette, I guarantee that you will enjoy it 🙂
This sounds delicious. I will have to try it. Thanks!
Thank you Laura, let me know if you try it and enjoy it as much as we did 😉
This looks mouthwatering Jess! So Matthew is a huge GSW fan and I just love the Curry family! I had heard about the cookbook and I’m glad to see that you found an awesome recipe! I’ve been thinking about ordering the book… would you recommend it?!
I WOULD recommend buying it; it’s a good cookbook that I think anybody could follow/practice with.Thank you Heather!
Your pulled chicken looks amazing! Ginger and black sauce will make a winning dish all the time! 🙂 #fiestafriday
Thank you Ann, the sauce is really the best part of the dish 🙂
Looks good!!
Thank you very much 🙂
Looks awesome Jess. I may have to make this.
Please do! Thank you 🙂
Looks so delicious, Jess ! Saving the recipe 🙂
Thank you Freda, I hope you get to try it out, it’s VERY good!
I bought her cookbook last month (I am a big collector as well) and there are lots of good recipes like this one – I couldn’t make up my mind which one to try first – you solved that for me! They are a special family and their little girl is as cute as can be – so natural.
Awesome! Yes, please do make this one first. It’s a real keeper 🙂
This doesn’t sound bad to me. In fact, I also love brown sugar in sauces. And I am telling myself now that I should make this soon! 😀 Thanks for sharing, Jess. Happy FF!
Thank you Jhuls! I hope you’e had a great weekend and have a greater week 🙂
I’m going to make this this week, looks lovely 🙂
Wonderful, I promise you won’t be disappointed; thanks 🙂
Oh I’m loving this recipe Jess – at first I had to re-read it thinking my eyes were deceiving me. But wow, the ingredients had me sold. I like the idea of shredding it, you can make a lot of extra dishes with the leftovers (if there were any left) LOL!
I tend to cook in large batches so that we do have leftovers for the week, but I gotta say, these didn’t last long lol Thanks Loretta 🙂
Jess, the pulled brown sugar chicken looks delicious! Love the combination of ingredients in it. Saving the recipe. Thanks for sharing it at FF!
Thank you Suchitra!
Can’t go wrong with a combo of sweet and salty flavors like this!
It’s a perfect combination for sure. Thank you!
I am drooling over this. So juicy and I love the beautiful caramelized color it gets from the mixture of brown sugar and soy sauce mixture.
It really is drool-worthy food, and the best part is, it’s SIMPLE to put together. Thank you Balvinder 🙂
Jess, I cannot tell you how mouthwatering this is! I haven’t been by for awhile – I’m going to have to catch up! 🙂
Welcome back! Thank you, this dish is a new favorite of ours and I’m glad to share with others so it can become one of theirs too 😉
Wow, just looking at this makes me hungry! Definitely want to try it out!
Then my work here is done, I’d say lol Thank you Ally 🙂
Thanks for visiting my site. I’m not a good cook(I prefer to bake) but this looks delicious and I’m going to give it a go..wish me luck and will let you know how it turned out.
You really don’t need luck to make this chicken; I’d say it’s nearly foolproof, even for those who don’t like to cook. Thank you for stopping by, I look forward to hearing what you think of the dish 😉