Thai Peanut Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 inch fresh ginger
• 1/2 fresh lime
• 1/2 Tbsp chili garlic sauce, or Sriracha
• 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp honey, or brown sugar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 3 Tbsp hot water
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
• 3 lbs chicken pieces

Directions

1. Finely chop the garlic. Take the skin off the ginger with a vegetable peeler, or scrape it away with the sharp edge of a spoon, then grate the ginger on the small holes of a cheese grater. Put the garlic and ginger in a medium bowl, squeeze in half the lime for 1.5-2 Tbsp juice, and add the chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, and vegetable oil. Whisk it all together, then add the peanut butter and hot water and whisk again until the sauce is mostly smooth. Give the cilantro a rough chop. Keep a handful back for finishing the chicken after it bakes, and mix the rest into the peanut sauce.
2. Scoop out 1/2 cup peanut sauce and keep it aside for later. Pour the rest into a gallon sized zip top bag, then add the chicken pieces. Press out as much air as you can, seal the bag well, and give everything a good massage so the chicken is coated in marinade. Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
3. When it is time to bake, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Transfer the chicken and every bit of marinade from the bag into a casserole dish, arranging the pieces in a single layer. Bake for 30 minutes, then brush the saved peanut sauce over the chicken. Return it to the oven for 15 minutes more, then check the center with a meat thermometer. If the chicken has not reached 160 degrees Fahrenheit, give it another 10-15 minutes in the oven and check again. Keep going this way until the thermometer reads 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Scatter the saved cilantro over the baked chicken and serve.