Spicy Apricot and Coconut Chicken Skewers

My sister made this recipe years ago.  It’s a surprisingly yummy and really easy bite to pull together.  I decided it should be part of our Bachelor Finale Extravaganza! Here’s what happened:

First things first, you need to soak your skewers.

This is an important step or your skewers will burn in the oven while your chicken is cooking.  You want to let these soak for at least 20 minutes.

In the meantime, cut up your chicken.

I didn’t do a very good job keeping my pieces uniform, but it’s no big deal.

Thread each piece of chicken onto the skewer like an accordion, so that they don’t fall off.  Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 350 F, until chicken is cooked through.  The timing will depend largely on how big or small your chicken has been cut.  Some of my pieces were in for longer than others, but anywhere from 15-25 minutes.

The original recipe called for Sambal Oelek to be added into the apricot jam, but I didn’t have any, so I used this. It worked just as well.

For the next several parts, I didn’t take any pictures because I’m a space case and forgot. But, don’t worry, it’s super easy!!  Let’s get straight to the recipe!

Final product.

Here’s what you need to do:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut up into skewer-sized pieces

skewers

salt & pepper

1 cup apricot jam

1 tsp chili garlic sauce (or Sambal Oelek) – more if you like it really spicy

1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 F. Thread each piece of chicken onto a skewer and season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes.  In the meantime, you will want to toast about 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut over medium heat until the ends have turned light brown. Set aside.  In a pot, stirring frequently, melt down about 1 cup of apricot jam over medium to medium low heat until its consistency is like syrup.  Add your chili garlic sauce and stir until combined.  Remove from heat.

Once your chicken is out of the oven, spoon or brush the syrup mixture onto each skewer and sprinkle with coconut.

Enjoy!