This is a recipe for Braised Tangerine Chicken flavored with Star Anise. A seared chicken thigh recipe that’s simmered in an exciting broth of tangerine, Sriracha and star anise. And tips on searing chicken thighs to insure an easy one pot braised chicken dinner.
I never tire of braised chicken recipes. With a snow day predicted on Sunday, I planned a kitchen day to try new recipes. I’m so glad this one was in the plans…is it OK to call it astonishing?
If you’ve never tried seared and braised chicken, once you do, you’ll wonder why you didn’t try it sooner. And please don’t try to save a couple grams of fat and reach for boneless skinless chicken breasts. I always use chicken thighs for these types of dishes. It’s the dark meat that holds all of the delicious flavor. And for a few more grams of fat, the extra flavor you get is fat grams well spent.
My Sunday Snowy Kitchen Day revolved around this little situation. Lucy, you got some splainin’ to do. Don’t ask, it’s a long boring story how a mountain of unused fruit ended up here. I Googled for a savory tangerine recipe and thanks to Williams and Sonoma we enjoyed this tasty tangerine chicken dish.
Chicken thighs are seared crispy and then simmered in a flavorful stew of chicken broth, onion, ginger, soy sauce, tangerine juice and zest, Sriracha and star anise. The end result is “make it again soon” good. The chicken happily soaks up the lively flavors and the end result is savory, citrusy with a hint of licorice from the star anise. Enjoy.
Tips for Braising Chicken Thighs
Braising chicken is a delicious way to enjoy a flavorful chicken dinner. It’s a simple process, searing the chicken, deglazing the pan, and then a long simmer in a flavorful broth. The end result is tender and flavorful meat.
But nothing is worse than cutting into a braised chicken thigh that’s not quite “done”. Starting with a good sear is the secret. Here are some simple tips to insure a thoroughly cooked piece of chicken.
- Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. And get it as dry as you can. If there’s moisture on that chicken when you drop it into the oil to sear, you’ll experience a dose of splattering grease.
- Once that chicken is dry, don’t be afraid of that hot oil. Heat the oil until it’s shimmering. Carefully add the chicken, seasoned side down, and sear until golden. As soon as you feel you have a good sear on the first side, turn the chicken. Season the unseasoned side and continue to cook until golden brown.
- Remove chicken to a plate and keep warm.
- Deglaze the pan. Preferably with white wine, or white wine vinegar, or chicken broth. Using a wooden spoon to stir and scrape up all those flavorful bits of chicken stuck to the bottom of the pan. This simple step adds so much flavor to the finished dish.
- Reduce heat to low and add your braising liquid. Gently add chicken on top of the liquid. Cover and braise according to recipe instructions. Usually about 45 minutes. Turning chicken once during that time.
Recipe for Tangerine Chicken with Star Anise
I hope you give this tangerine chicken recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating.
Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a favorite braised chicken thigh recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
More Braised Chicken Thigh Recipes:
Braised Tangerine Chicken with Star Anise
Ingredients
- 2 tangerines
- 8 chicken thighs bone in, skin on
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable oil
- 1 small yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 1 Cup chicken broth
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha
- 2-3 whole star anise
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tablespoon water
Instructions
- Finely grate the zest from the tangerines, then squeeze 1/2 cup juice. Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sear the chicken, turning once or twice, until browned on both sides, about 9 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat in the pot and return the pot to medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic, the ginger and half of the tangerine zest and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the broth, tangerine juice, soy sauce, chile-garlic sauce, and star anise and bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Return the chicken to the pot, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the chicken is opaque throughout, about 25 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to a platter. Bring the liquid in the pot to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook just until the sauce thickens slightly, about 30 seconds.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with the remaining tangerine zest and serve. Serves 4.
- Serve over steamed rice, or with crusty bread to soak up the flavorful broth.
Notes
Nutrition
Braised Tangerine Chicken Thighs with Star Anise …It’s what’s for Dinner.
Know I commented on this before, but now I’m in a new home with a loaded mandarin orange tree! Printing it to try soon.
Damn, I need to start garage saling (yes, it’s considered a verb in the South!) for my picture props! What a great idea.
I just can’t see you garage sale-ing Chris. 🙂
This post has so many of my favorite things: braised chicken, star anise, sriracha, garage sales, teenage boys – just checking to how closely you read this 😉 . . .
Anyway, love the post, the dish and the photo!
LOL, what? Snow isn’t one of your favorite things?
braising chicken sounds great! yum!
Thanks Sarah and Arkadi. Always good to hear from you.
Love the idea of citrus and star anise in the chicken.
Sam
Me Too Sam. It was delicious.
I too have become a believer in the value of using chicken thighs for both flavor and moistness. Very interesting combo with the tangerine and star anise. It has piqued my interest to try it out of curiosity for that flavor combo.
I’m with you … not many chicken breasts end up in my kitchen. As always thanks for stopping by and the comment.
I don’t think we’ve ever braised chicken but this makes me want to – it looks so delicious. Seems like a fine way to spend a snow day.
whaaaa???? You really should try it sometime. I’ve posted about 6 really good recipes over the years. All bursting with flavor.
The tangerine and star anise combination sounds very interesting, I love braised chicken, it is such a comforting type of meal. Beautiful photos Lea Ann.
Thanks Cheri. It was a very interesting combo in a delicious sort of way. Let me know if you try it. And thanks for that compliment on the photos.
Braised chicken is seriously good stuff. And thighs are becoming my chicken-of-choice for so many dishes these days — nice as chicken breasts look, they’ve seem to have lost all flavor (unless you brine them). Love the inclusion of tangerine and star anise in this – I don’t think I’ve used them together before, but they sound so right together. Good stuff — thanks.
Thanks John, I’ve never really brined except for just a salt bath before frying chicken. I really should learn a new flavor skill.
Spring snow storms are a great excuse to stay home and spend time in the kitchen, especially on a weekend. And you mentioned that you baked too? Can’t wait to see what goodies you feasted on! I bet this chicken really made the house smell good. Love the spices.
yup, I baked. A banana coffee cake. Stay tuned. 🙂
This is such a lovely bargain a $1 !!! Woow … Braised chicken are my fav. too. Very nice recipe I gotta try this.
Let me know if you try it Amira and what you thought. We loved this one.
NEVER let a young male help in the garage sale. Long story, but I found that out the hard way LOL! Beautiful tray and a wonderful sounding dish. I love using thighs too.
You really would have been amused if you would have been there Karen. I wish I would have taken a photo of him and that golf club.