If all I made with it was crumbles, pies and preserves, I'd get sick of rhubarb pretty quickly. Realising that I didn't actually know many uses for rhubarb besides desserts, I decided to research the savoury uses of rhubarb. It seems that rhubarb goes well with meats such as chicken and pork, so I decided to come up with this marinade for chicken. The tartness of the rhubarb, the sweetness of the spices and warmth from the ginger work perfectly together with the chicken.
Note: I haven't tried making a vegan version of this recipe yet, so if anyone does, please leave a comment to let me know how it turns out! I think this would complement tofu 'chicken' perfectly.
Servings: 2
Preparation: 25-40 mins, plus roughly 24 hours to marinate
Cooking: 45-60 mins
Equipment:
- Small saucepan
- Wooden spoon (or something to stir the sauce with)
- Glass dish
Ingredients:
- 1 stalk rhubarb (½ if the stalk is extra large like mine was) thinly sliced (between 1-2cm, roughly - this means that the rhubarb won't be stringy)
- ½ large red onion, diced
- 1 heaped tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
- 1½ tsp Chinese five spice
- 2 heaped tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp muscovado sugar
- 1 tsp butter (I used a dairy free butter)
- 2 cloves finely chopped garlic
- 2 medium sized chicken breasts
Method:
- Add the butter to the saucepan on low-medium heat. Once it begins to melt, add the onion and sugar and carefully stir. Let the onion begin to caramelise.
- Add the ginger, spices and garlic. Stir in then leave to further caramelise.
- Put the rhubarb in the pan with just enough water to cover it. Simmer on medium heat until the rhubarb has fallen apart, stirring occasionally. The consistency should be thick but still easily pourable. If it's too watery, simply simmer for longer.
- Place the chicken breasts in a glass dish. The chicken should fit fairly snugly, leaving enough space for the sauce of course. Don't worry about defrosting them first if they're frozen as they are going to be marinating overnight.
- Let the marinade cool a little before pouring over the chicken. When completely cooled (as to not damage your refrigerator) cover the dish and place in the fridge for roughly 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 165
°C (Gas Mark 3/325
°
F)
- Remove the covering, then place the dish in the oven for 45 mins to 1 hr, or until the chicken is cooked completely (you don't want to get food poisoning!)
- Serve the chicken with a few spoonfuls of sauce, or alternatively pull the chicken apart with a fork and mix until thoroughly coated in marinade.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments or, alternatively, email me. If you post a picture on instagram make sure to tag me! Knowing that other people like my recipes fills me with joy. Thank you ever so much for reading and goodbye until next time :) ~Jay
