Grilled Ginger Chicken with Apricot Chutney
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Southeast Asian spices and lots of fresh ginger flavor this delicious grilled chicken.
This recipe is a variation on my Grilled Moroccan Chicken (one of the most popular recipes on my site) but instead of North African spices, I use Southeast Asian spices and lots of fresh ginger to flavor the chicken.
This is actually delicious on its own — in fact, my kids prefer it that way — but it’s even better paired with a sweet and sour apricot chutney. As you’ll see below, making homemade chutney is easy, but if you’ve got a store-bought brand that you like, by all means, save time and use it.
What you’ll need to make Grilled Ginger Chicken
How to make it
Begin by pounding the breasts to an even 1/2-inch thickness. This ensures they stay extra tender.
Next, combine the chicken and marinade ingredients in a Ziplock freezer bag. Mix well, then marinate in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours or overnight.
Meanwhile, make the apricot chutney.
Cook the onions in vegetable oil until they are soft and translucent, then add the minced garlic and ginger and cook a minute more.
Add the apricots, red bell peppers, vinegar, honey, water, and cayenne pepper and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down and simmer for about an hour. The chutney is done when most of the liquid is dissolved, the apricots are tender, and the mixture looks “jammy.” Refrigerate the chutney until ready to serve.
When you’re ready to eat, preheat the grill to high heat, then grill the breasts a few minutes per side. It’s important that the grill is very hot — you want nice char marks in the short amount of time it takes to cook the chicken. Be sure not to overcook it!
Top the breasts with the chutney, or serve it alongside.
If you’ve got any chutney left over, try it on salty crackers with cream cheese — it’s delicious. Enjoy!
You may also like
- Filipino-Style Chicken Adobo
- Grilled Thai Curry Chicken Skewers with Coconut-Peanut Sauce
- Asian BBQ Chicken
- Thai Red Curry Chicken
Grilled Ginger Chicken with Apricot Chutney
Southeast Asian spices and lots of fresh ginger flavor this delicious grilled chicken.
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1½ - 1¾ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded ½-inch thin, or chicken tenderloins
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ tablespoons fresh grated ginger (you'll need about a 2-inch knob)
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoons ground coriander
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the Apricot Chutney
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ tablespoons fresh grated ginger (see note)
- 20 dried apricots, coarsely chopped
- ½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup honey
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
For the Chicken
- In a large ziplock freezer bag, combine the oil, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, salt and cayenne pepper. Seal the bag and use your hands to swish the mixture and combine. Add the chicken, then press the air out of the bag and seal tightly. Massage the marinade into the breasts until evenly coated; place the bag in a bowl (in case of leakage) in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours or overnight.
- Clean the grill and preheat to high heat. Lightly dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and, using tongs, carefully rub over grates several times until glossy and coated. Place chicken on the grill and cook, covered, for 2-3 minutes per side. Be careful not to overcook.
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
For the Apricot Chutney
- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook a minute more. Add the apricots, red bell peppers, cayenne pepper, honey, apple cider vinegar and water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until the apricots are tender and most of the liquid is gone, 45 minutes - 1 hour. The mixture should look "jammy." If the chutney looks dry before it's done, add a few tablespoons more water and continue cooking. Season with salt and more cayenne pepper if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve at room temperature.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 4
- Calories: 648
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated fat: 17 g
- Carbohydrates: 72 g
- Sugar: 9 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 17 g
- Sodium: 1,120 mg
- Cholesterol: 124 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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Absolutely delicious. Love the left over chutney with crackers and cream cheese also.
Loved the combination of flavours in this. A little spicy, a little sweet, a little sour and and a little savory. We really enjoyed this. A masterpiece for our mouths.
Good afternoon Jenn! Quick question – my husband and I are not the biggest fans of bell pepper – could you recommend a substitution for the chutney? Or would it be ok to leave it out altogether? Please let me know? Thank you!
Hi Bethany, you can just leave the bell pepper out; it will still be good. Hope you enjoy!
I was a little hesitant to make this recipe as your Moroccan chicken is a family favorite. For a birthday party I decided to make it. My family rated it another 5 star recipe! Great flavors and the chutney is outstanding. It is worth making homemade! Asian spices are not my favorite but this recipe is delicious. I made it just like the recipe said.
So good! Turned out perfectly. I thought the ginger would be overpowering, but it was just right. I used dried turkish apricots. I had so much chutney left over I made an extra freezer meal with the marinade and attached it to the leftover chutney. You never fail to produce a stellar recipe.
I forgot to include what I served with: I served this with fresh sauteed zucchini from the garden and some roasted miso glazed fingerling potatoes (2T white miso paste, 2T brown sugar, 2 oz butter, melted over stovetop and then tossed with 12 oz halved fingerling potatoes, then roast for 15-20 min, halved-side down).
Loved this. Severed it over quinoa. With a side of roasted zucchini. I don’t have a grill but the chicken pan fried just as good. You should have a pictures page so we can submit our finished dishes! Mine looked exactly like the photo.
Hi,
Any suggestions on side dishes for this?
Thanks!
Hi Karen, this would pair nicely with a Moroccan Chickpea and Carrot Salad and/or this Basmati Rice Pilaf.
This looks excellent, I have 2 lbs of fresh apricots from my CSA…do you think I can substitute fresh apricots in place of the dried? If so what would be the ratio, having difficulty finding it online….
Hi Emily. It will taste different with fresh apricots but should work. I’d use about half the amount. Please let me know how it turns out.
Thank you for this recipe! I made it tonight and my husband said it was in his top ten of favorite meals.
Such a flavoursome dish! Dried apricots were unavailable so I had to use tinned peaches but it still came out great. Love your recipes Jenn 🙂
The chicken is great but the apricot chutney can certainly stand alone. I’ve made batches of this as gifts and everyone keeps asking for ore!
Jenn this recipe is so good! Quick question – How long can the chutney be kept for in the fridge?
Thanks!
Hi Mary, I would say it’d safely keep a few weeks.
You’re not much into ecology, 13 sheets of paper when one would have sufficed.
Ed, There is a “print recipe” button on the pop-up on the left of the screen as well as to the right of the actual recipe (under the instructions and photo); click that button to go to the one-page printable recipe.
Lovely! I might like to serve this with saffron rice. It looks so easy to do. Great pics!
This recipe has a lot of interesting flavors in it; going
to give it a try. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Jennifer!
I’m a new comer to your blog and am so happy to have found you! This dish looks beautiful, fresh, and delicious. I’m constantly looking for new chicken ideas and am pretty much obsessed with dried apricots right now. What a flavorful way to put them together. Thanks for sharing!