One-Pan Chicken Thighs With Coconut Creamed Corn
This one-skillet dish features crispy chicken thighs cooked atop sweet caramelized corn and coconut milk, balanced with ginger, chile, scallions, and lime. As the corn simmers, the chicken finishes cooking, allowing the flavors to meld deeply.It's a complete, summery meal that can be made anytime using frozen corn. Garnish with cilantro, chives, fried shallots, or coconut flakes, and serve with a green side. Shrimp can be used as an alternative to chicken if desired.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (4 to 6 pieces)
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels from about 7 ears
- 3 scallions thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
- 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated or chopped
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and finely grated or chopped
- 1 serrano chile or chipotle in adobo finely chopped, or ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- 1 15-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 lime cut into wedges
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet and place the chicken thighs, skin-side down, over medium heat. Let them cook undisturbed until the skin is deep golden brown and the thighs release easily from the pan, about 15 minutes. (If oil splatters, cover the skillet.) Once browned, transfer the chicken, skin-side up, to a plate, keeping the skillet and fat for later use.
- Turn the heat to high and add the corn, scallion whites, ginger, garlic, and serrano to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until the corn begins to brown in spots, about 2 to 3 minutes (add 1-2 more minutes if using frozen corn).
- Reduce the heat to medium and pour in the coconut milk, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken back on top of the corn mixture, skin-side up. Simmer until the coconut milk thickens slightly and the chicken is cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. If the corn mixture reduces too much before the chicken is done, add a few tablespoons of water or chicken stock.
- Serve with a squeeze of lime juice and the reserved scallion greens on top.