The sweet-and-sour, sticky pulp of the tamarind fruit is used widely in Latin cuisine, especially in Mexican and Caribbean dishes, and it's a staple in Asian cooking as well. Tamarind’s raw taste is slightly bitter with a hint of sweetness, and it adds a balance of these flavors to ingredients it’s combined with.
Latin cooking tends to exploit the fruit’s sugary side, using it in sweet drinks and sauces, candies, and desserts. Asian recipes take advantage of the more sour side, adding it to fiery stir-fry sauces and other savory dishes.
In this Caribbean recipe, the tamarind sauce is sweet and slightly salty, with a little added heat from cayenne chiles.
Caribbean Baked Chicken with Sweet Tamarind Sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 whole chicken (about 3 lbs), skin removed, cut into 8 serving pieces
- juice of half a lime
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 small onion, sliced vertically into thin strips
- 8 oz pineapple chunks (from an 8-oz can in 100% juice), juice reserved
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
- fresh kiwi or mango slices for garnish (optional)
For the Tamarind Sauce
- 1/2 cup canned tamarind juice (or tamarind water)
- 4 tbsp light brown sugar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp reserved pineapple juice
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2 cayenne chiles, finely chopped
- freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
For the Chicken
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the chicken pieces in a single layer in a foil-lined baking pan. Squeeze the lime juice on top and season with salt, pepper, and coriander.
- Scatter the onion strips and pineapple chunks around and on top of the chicken. Pour the chicken broth around the edges.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over, cover again, and bake 20 minutes longer
- Turn the chicken again and baste with the tamarind sauce. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes longer. Baste once more before removing the chicken from the pan.
- To serve, place the chicken, onions, and pineapple on a platter and scatter the cilantro on top. Garnish with fresh kiwi or mango slices, if desired.
- Pass the remaining tamarind sauce at the table.
For the Tamarind Sauce
- Combine the first 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a small saucepan. Bring to a slight boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and season with pepper.
Pamela Steed Hill - Pamela Steed Hill is an editor, freelance writer, and home cook. She has published over 250 food articles and recipes online.
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