One-pot dishes are all about planning well and laying out your prep in a smart sequential order. The beauty of this dish is the vinegar, which is malty, nutty, and nuanced. I love a Philippine cane vinegar called Datu Puti. Great stuff, super-inexpensive, and readily available at most Asian grocery stores.
Ingredients
Serves 2 as a big main course or 4 as a small one
Step 1
Season the thighs with the salt and pepper.
Step 2
In a wide, heavy-bottomed pot that has a lid, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the thighs, skin side down, and let them cook without moving them around for 7 minutes. You are encouraging good caramelization of the skin and developing a ton of flavor in the process. After 7 minutes turn the thighs over and add the onions, paprika, and garlic to the pot. Cook for 5 minutes and then add the vinegar, being careful not to let it flame up.
Step 3
This is a good time to get a spatula and loosen up all of those pan drippings. The vinegar needs to cook down by half, and when it does, add the stock. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes over low heat, remove the lid, and add the oranges, mint, and spinach. Stir lightly and serve immediately.
How would you rate Cane Vinegar Chicken with Pearl Onions, Orange & Spinach?
Leave a Review
Reviews (12)
Back to TopI found this recipe to have way too much vinegar. I could not find the cane vinegar at our local asian market, so I used white balsamic & cut back on both vinegar & chicken broth still putting them in 1:1. I would probably change the ratio of vinegar to chicken broth 1:3 instead of 1:1. Because the recipe had too much vinegar, I sweetened it up using brown sugar and ginger powder. Then I let it simmer a long time to cook off the vinegar. In the end the modifications worked out but personally I think this recipe needs some adjustments.
jkmeyers
Madison, WI
3/8/2018
This was very easy to put together. Not sure if it's fair to give it 2 forks because I used rice vinegar instead of cane. Needed a teaspoon of sugar at the end to mellow out the vinegar, maybe I didn't reduce it enough or my oranges weren't sweet enough. Chicken was very tender, not sure pearl onions added much to it. Liked it enough to try again using cane vinegar and maybe I'll sub leeks for the pearl onions too.
bas614
波士顿
2/19/2018
I've made this many times. I use cane vinegar (lots of Asian markets near me). I often use frozen pearl onions that have been thawed, and canned mandarin oranges - less prep. For well-rendered chicken thighs, place them skin-side down in a cold skillet - you can drain the chicken fat and will have a less-oily final product.
d_odds
Richmond Hill, Queens, NY
10/4/2017
I'm always looking for great recipes to take to work for lunch. I could not find cane vinegar so I used white wine vinegar, the dish was a bit too tart & bitter for my taste. I didn't understand the pearl onions, more bitterness I think. I added more spinach the next day and quinoa rice because it was just juice, meat and oranges. The next day it wasn't as tart. I may make it again and either find cane vinegar or leave it out altogether. It was different, my husband didn't like it at all!
jnalls
Richton Park, IL
1/24/2017
Whoops, couldn't edit my review below. I used WHITE WINE VINEGAR not red.
dontodip
5/24/2016
Oh boy. I took several liberties with this recipe but the end result was SO delicious. I'm without a stove while my kitchen is being remolded but when I ran across this chicken I just had to try to crockpot it. I put 8 salted and peppered chicken thighs, a heap of Coastal California Fennel Rub, 8 oz bag of frozen pearl onions, plenty of minced garlic, a can of chicken broth, and several generous glugs of red wine vinegar in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours. When I got home from work I cranked the cooker to high and tossed in a small can of mandarin orange segments, a nice shake of dried mint, and a 16oz bag of fresh spinach. The spinach was nicely wilted and the dish was ready to serve over rice about 20 minutes later. We LOVED it! I'll try the stovetop method once my kitchen is up and running but the slow cooker method definitely gets and A+++
dontodip
Narberth , Pa
5/24/2016
Really good if you like vinegar (which I love). Great with brown rice.
Anonymous
圣法郎isco, CA
10/26/2015
This was great. I couldn't find cane vinegar in my local store, so I just ordered it from Amazon for $8.99. Why not. I figured it'd be worth it even if I just made this twice. Definitely we'll be making it again. We used six chicken thighs (perfect for three people) and would probably use eight next time and also add a few extra onions and more garlic (there is enough sauce already). We did let the chicken thighs cook for longer than seven minute skin-down to get the skins better-cooked. Also, there was a choice at the store between small pearl onions and larger ones-- I went with the smaller ones and seems like it was the right choice.
Anonymous
watertown, ma
10/10/2014
Made this last night with rice wine vinegar (no cane vinegar here in the New England boondocks) and it was wonderful! Whole family loved it. I brought the leftovers for lunch today and am still in love with the dish. We are adding this to the regular rotation.
peachpi4
8/26/2013
We really enjoyed this dish. We also never had Cane Vinegar so I used 3/4 cup of Rice Wine Vinegar and 1/4 cup of Sherry Cooking Wine and it worked really well with the flavours. The trick is to make enough to reheat it again on the stovetop the next day for seconds. I decided to add a little more liquid to it (1/4cup of OJ and 1/4 of veggie stock) - served over rice it was awesome!
Anonymous
Vancouver
12/11/2012
Couldn't find cane vinegar (tried 4 different places), so I used rice vinegar. My husband and his parents loved this! Will enter the meal rotation
Anonymous
Scottsdale, AZ
2/16/2012
We substituted apple cider vinegar for the cane vinegar. That may have proven to be a big mistake. There wasn't much to like about the flavors and/or textures of this dish. I won't be making this again.
Anonymous
SF, CA
1/11/2012
See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips
-
67 One-Pot Dinners For the Nights You Just Can't Do More Dishes
Make clean-up a breeze. -
What to Cook This Weekend, December 9th & 10th
Braised birds, roasted veg, and a holiday-spiced brownies for a wintry weekend of cooking. (You may want to cancel your plans now.) -
6 Colorful Recipes to Brighten Up a Winter Weekend
From deep-red Romesco sauce to an orange butternut squash tart, these dishes that will bring much-needed color to your table.
