The Filipino Mom Blog

This is an easy recipe. I used to do it with whole chickens, but I realized my kids and husband would attack the thighs and leave the breast to me. Nobody wants the white meat in our house.

Chicken thighs, contrary to what you may have been led to believe, are healthy (remove the skin if you must). According to Women’s Health Magazine, dark-meat poultry like chicken thighs are rich in iron, zinc and B vitamins, while having lower fat content than red meat (such as beef).

Chicken thigh meat is juicier and doesn’t dry up the way white meat does after it has cooled. So it’s ideal for school (or office) lunch too. I’d marinate the chicken at night, throw them into the oven the following morning. And, voila! A superb school lunch that your kids will be proud to share with the class.

Ingredients:

6 pieces chicken thighs, washed and drained

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. Italian Seasoning (by McCormick)

OR a mix of these dried herbs: rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, marjoram

1/2 cup chicken broth or water

a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper

How-to:

1. Marinate the chicken thighs in the rest of the ingredients for at least an hour, but ideally overnight. To make sure the inner parts are cooked thoroughly, I’d pierce or make incisions around the joints.

2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. A turbo broiler will do instead of an oven. (Thanks, Em_Dy!)

3. Arrange thighs, skin-side up, on an oven-proof dish. Cook in oven for about 20 minutes on each side, ending with skin side up to get that nice golden color.

4. To test for doneness, pierce the thickest part of thigh. If clear fluid runs, your chicken is done. Be careful not to overcook - kids don’t like dry meat! Feel free to reduce the temperature at any point.

5. Cool a bit and arrange in your kiddos’ lunch box. The drippings make a delightful gravy.

Gravy: Heat a small saucepan. Combine the drippings with some flour (roughly about 1 tablespoon of flour for all the drippings). Let bubble while stirring constantly over low heat.