Ingredients

• 3 ½ pounds bone-in chicken thighs (6-8)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 - 13.5 oz can coconut milk
• ½ cup rice or cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1-¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced
• Cooked white rice, for serving

Directions

1. Trim the chicken and toss with the soy sauce in a large, shallow bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Remove the chicken from the soy sauce, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl.
3. Transfer the chicken, skin side down, to a cold 12-inch nonstick skillet. Set the soy sauce aside.
4. Place the skillet over medium-high heat and cook until the skin is crisp and dark golden, 8-10 minutes.
5. While the chicken is browning, whisk the coconut milk, vinegar, sugar and pepper into the soy sauce.
6. Transfer the chicken to a plate and discard the fat in the skillet. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.
7. Pour the soy sauce-coconut milk mixture into the pan; add the garlic and bay leaves.
8. Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up, and bring to a gentle boil.
9. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 35 minutes, or until the chicken registers 175 degrees.
10. Transfer the chicken to a platter and keep warm by tenting loosely with aluminum foil.
11. Fish out the bay leaves and skim any noticeable fat off the surface of the sauce.
12. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
13. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (if it is too assertive, add a few tablespoons of water and/or a bit more sugar).
14. Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with the scallions.
15. Serve with rice.

Notes

If you’d like the skin to be extra crispy, place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and broil for a few minutes before serving.

This dish is wonderful prepared ahead of time. After reheating, transfer the chicken to a foil-lined baking sheet, skin side up, and quickly crisp the skin under the broiler.

If you’d like to use white meat, use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. If you’d like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, skip the first cooking step of searing the skin, and reduce the simmering time to about 20 minutes.