Recipe: Sticky chicken & curly sweet potato fries

Long time no recipe! And today’s recipe is a different type from what I usually post. I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I just need comfort food, especially if it’s cold outside. One of my favorite comfort foods that is certainly NOT good for you but still entirely delicious (though it looks gross until you plate it) is fries with sticky chicken.

Sticky chicken with curly sweet potato fries

The best thing about this recipe? It only has 5 ingredients and is pretty much fool proof. It does take some time to put it altogether, but once it does it is one of the naughtiest, yet most delicious treat meals out there. The only aspect of this meal that is remotely healthy is the sweet potato. Sorry not sorry!

Total time: 60 mins. Prep time: 15 mins. Cooking time: 45 mins. Serves: 2.

Ingredients:

• 4 – 12 chicken drumsticks (it needs to be chicken with a bone)
• 2 medium sized sweet potato
• 1 can of coke (can be diet)
• 1 small bottle of ketchup (or 1 cup)
• cajun seasoning
• olive oil (optional)

Other than that you will need a spiralizer, a large pan and an oven. Like I said: foolproof yet time consuming.

Start your meal by peeling the sweet potato and spiralizing it. Preheat your oven to 200 Celsius while you are doing this. I used the largest knife my spiralizer comes with. I didn’t want to be too skinny as I feared it wouldn’t be very ‘fries’ like any more. I generoulsy seasoned it with cajun seasoning. You can also add a bit of oil, but you can also cook it without.

The sweet potato should go into the oven for 25 mins, then give them a shuffle around to cook them evenly and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. You will get a good kinda crispy edge to your fries this way, while still having soft centres. That’s my favorite fry consistency.

While your sweet potato is in the oven, it is time to get the chicken going. Place the chicken in a hot pan and add the ketchup and coke. Stir it together to create a gross looking brownish red sauce. Make sure it is mixed well. Then place the lid onto your pan and let the goodness simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, turn up the heat and keep stirring the mixture and chicken until the mixture is reduced to no more than a sticky layer on your chicken. This is why your chicken needs to have bone: if you were to use chicken tenders, they would just fall apart. The bone will hold it together.

Once fully cooked your sweet potato fries should look something like this: cooked all the way through and golden brown.

Once you start reducing down the mixture to make the sticky layer, please be careful. The mixture will be incredibly hot and once it starts bubbling away, it will splash around a bit. So keep an eye on it and be careful with your fingers and your clothes! And no this does not look appetizing at all, until…

… you put it together on a plate. Of course you can make this healthier and add some more veggies, but that would be besides the point wouldn’t it? The chicken will be thoroughly cooked and super tender, while have a sticky sweet layer that will just make a big ole mess. And sweet potato fries are always a complete winner in my book. Can’t go wrong with those.

What is your favorite comfort food?