Maple and Orange Sticky Chicken

What would pancakes or waffles be without maple syrup?  My kids don't want to find out so I make sure I have maple syrup always stocked in our house. I was happy when the folks at  Pure Canadian Maple Syrup sent me some free samples of their outstanding varieties of maple syrup.  My kids wanted to eat it straight out of the bottle, but I was determined to use it in a savory dish.  I love the balance of sweet and savory when creating Asian dishes so I created this Maple and Orange Sticky Chicken dish. It blew the roof off on how good it came out. The maple syrup provided just the right balance of sweetness for the chicken.  We ate them as a meal with some rice and steamed vegetables.  The marinade turned into this thick and awesome sauce that we poured over our rice.  It certainly was a fantastic meal and I know I'll be making this Maple and Orange Sticky Chicken again very soon. 

Ingredients:
12-15chicken legs (bone in, skin on)  You can also use breast or thigh

Marinade:
1/2 cup of good quality maple syrup
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/2 cup of orange marmalade jam
1/4 cup of dry sherry or Chinese Rice Wine
2 Tbs of rice wine vinegar
2 inches of grated fresh ginger
4-5 cloves of fresh garlic grated
1/4 tsp of Chinese 5 Spice
red chili flakes to taste (I put 1 heaping Tablespoon)


Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in the marinade together.  Put chicken in a ziploc safe bag and pour marinade over chicken.  Make sure all the chicken gets coated well with the marinade.  Marinate overnight in the fridge. **remember to place ziploc into a large bowl or tray to catch accidental drips**

Place Chicken and all the marinade into a large baking dish.  Preheat oven to 400 degree.  Bake Chicken in the middle of the oven.  Cook chicken for 45-55 minutes and baste chicken with marinade juices every 15 minutes.

Optional step:  Sprinkle chicken with some sesame seeds for the last 15 minutes of baking time. 

Serve hot with Rice and Vegetables.  Enjoy.

  Disclosure: I received the maple syrup courtesy of Pure Canadian Maple Syrup.  I was not compensated in any way for writing this post.  The opinions stated in this post are my own. Thank you.

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