Chicken breasts are the easiest part of the chicken to cook.
There are no bones, and they are easy to portion and cut into smaller pieces.
The problem with cooking chicken breasts, though, is that they tend to become dry as they cook.
I was at Tangs a couple of weeks ago and I did a demo of a one-pot pasta dish using roast chicken. I seldom buy roasted chicken from the stores. Not that they are no good, but when I cook something myself, I know what is going into the food, and that makes it easier when I combine flavors. And yes, I am a bit of a control freak like that.
In addition, I cringe at having to pay so much for a ready-cooked (but very small) chicken, especially when I know that I can probably do better by cooking it myself.
I came up with this recipe for the not-so-secret spice mix that I am going to cook the chicken with quite by accident. One day, I wanted to grill some chicken breast for dinner because I was out of time, and I thought, well, if I combine a few flavors that I like and rub it on the chicken, maybe I could get away with having dinner done very quickly.
What I didn’t expect to find was that the chicken breast stayed really moist after cooking!
Being the cynic that I am, I cooked the dish again, and again, and now I use the spice mix so often, I make them in batches so I always have a tub of it in my pantry.
This spice mix goes beautifully with chicken (both whole chickens and chicken parts), fish and even vegetables like cauliflower.
The most distinctive flavor in this spice mix comes from the smoked paprika. Smoked paprika is not easy to find in the stores here so I buy them online (and I get quite a few bottles at one go).
You may think that that is quite a bit of trouble to have to go through, but I promise you, it is worth every bit of ma fan (trouble). The flavor of smoked paprika cannot be replicated or substituted, and it is gorgeously yummy. (Just ask the folks who came to taste the food at my demo, they’ll tell ya!)
One more thing about this spice mix is that it is not spicy as long as you omit (or add very little of) the cayenne or chili powder. My kids like it when I cook their food with this spice mix, and they can’t abide any spicy food!
So today, I am sharing this amazing recipe with you.
And here are the instructions on how to make the spice mix, as well as how to grill this very easy, very moist and very delicious chicken.
To make the spice mix, combine garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, mustard powder, cayenne or chili powder (if using), salt and black pepper in a bowl.
Whisk until well-combined.
There is enough here for quite a bit of cooking, so store whatever that is left in an air-tight container in a cool dry place. The spice mix will keep for months. Not that it will last that long!
Sprinkle enough of the spice mix on chicken which has been patted dry with kitchen towels. Just pat to dry the surface – there is no need to go mental here. The chicken should be covered with the spice mix.
Spray (or brush) some oil on a baking tray. Place the chicken on the baking tray and spray (or brush) with a little more oil.
Grill the chicken in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for 20 minutes.
Once done, cover the chicken with a piece of foil and allow the chicken to rest on the tray for 5-10 minutes (so the juices get re-distributed) before serving.
I normally serve this with a salad, but you can always serve it with Red Pepper Butter Rice. It is really really good!
WORKSHOPS
Date: Thursday 13 April 2017
Workshop: Hands-on Valrhona Marble Butter Cake and Lana-Inspired Chocolate Fudge Cake Workshop
Time: 9.00am – 12.00pm
Venue: The Eureka Cooking Lab
Tickets Link > CLICK HERE
Date: Friday 28 April 2017
Workshop: Hands-on Valrhona Marble Butter Cake and Lana-Inspired Chocolate Fudge Cake Workshop
Time: 9.00am – 12.00pm
Venue: The Eureka Cooking Lab
Tickets Link > CLICK HERE
Date: Saturday 13 May 2017
Workshop: Hands-on Valrhona Marble Butter Cake and Lana-Inspired Chocolate Fudge Cake Workshop
Time: 9.00am – 12.00pm
Venue: The Eureka Cooking Lab
Tickets Link > CLICK HERE
Date: Friday 31 March 2017
Workshop: Hands-on Pandan Chiffon & Gula Melaka Chiffon Cakes Workshop
Time: 9.00am – 12.00pm
Venue: The Eureka Cooking Lab
Tickets Link > CLICK HERE
Date: Saturday 1 April 2017
Workshop: Hands-on Japanese Cheesecake and Fruit Tarts Workshop
Time: 3.30pm – 6.30pm
Venue: The Eureka Cooking Lab
Tickets Link > CLICK HERE
Date: Friday 7 April 2017
Workshop: Hands-on Japanese Cheesecake and Fruit Tarts Workshop
Time: 9.00am – 12.00pm
Venue: The Eureka Cooking Lab
Tickets Link > CLICK HERE
Date: Saturday 15 April 2017
Workshop: Hands-on Valrhona Chocolate Drip Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Meringue Kisses Workshop
Time: 2.00pm – 5.00pm
Venue: The Eureka Cooking Lab
Tickets Link > CLICK HERE
- 2 whole chicken breast (4 chicken breast halves), trimmed and skin removed
- 3 tablespoons garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons onion powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne or chili powder (optional)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- To make the spice mix, combine garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, mustard powder, cayenne or chili powder (if using), salt and black pepper in a bowl. Whisk until well-combined.
- Sprinkle enough of the spice mix on chicken which has been patted dry with kitchen towels. Just pat to dry the surface – there is no need to go mental here. The chicken should be covered with the spice mix.
- Spray (or brush) some oil on a baking tray. Place the chicken on the baking tray and spray (or brush) with a little more oil.
- Grill the chicken in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for 20 minutes.
- Once done, cover the chicken with a piece of foil and allow the chicken to rest on the tray for 5-10 minutes (so the juices get re-distributed) before serving.
- Store any left-over spice mix in an air-tight container in a cool dry place. The spice mix will keep for months.
Hi Diana,
I’m salivating just by looking..
Thank you so much Irene 🙂
Cooked this for dinner last evening. Both hubby and I loved it! I made dijon cream sauce to drizzle onto the chicken. Served with garlic mashed potato and steamed vegetables.
Thank you so much for all the amazing recipes 🙂
Awesome! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe!