If you like sweet, spicy and crunchy dishes then look no further! This delicious coca cola chicken is the perfect meal. Even if you don’t like cola (I don’t) you might be surprised by how delicious this is.

Coca cola chicken | insimoneskitchen.com

Coca cola chicken

I have a very good friend who is addicted to cola. Or maybe addicted is too big a word but it’s her drink of choice, always, everywhere. I have teased her about it plenty of times, but she’s persistent. Not just coke, but it has to be one brand and it has to be coke light. No other stuff please. About a year ago we were shopping and as usual I was browsing in the cookbook section of the bookstore when we spotted a little book in the shape of a cola bottle, that – you guessed it – was all about cooking with cola. H. took it home and she made something from the book but hated it completely.

Coca cola chicken | insimoneskitchen.com

In all honesty; she also hates cooking in general so the fact that she didn’t like the dish she made could have had something to do with the fact that she never really cooks. I’m just saying… 😉

Have you eaten?

When I received the book Have you eaten by Billy Law, cola was the last thing on my mind, going through all those gorgeous recipes. You might know Billy from the Masterchef Australia series where he did quite well. He was in the season where they cooked for the Dalai Lama (I always forget which year is which but it is those things that stick in my mind!)

At the time Billy stood out for me as he had a great way of cooking delicious Asian dishes plus he was also a foodblogger. That creates a bond doesn’t it? 😉 Billy styled, photographed and created all the recipes for the book and it is a wonderful mix of different recipes. A lot of the recipes have a Malaysian background but you will also find a lot of recipes from other parts of the world.

Book cover have you eaten

I was having a hard time deciding which recipe I was going to make first for the review as there are many I want to try. He also has a couple of delicious pork belly recipes there that I am dying to try out, especially since I have two pieces of pork belly in the freezer. However, pork belly takes a lot of time so I wanted to find a fairly quick recipe. And then I saw it ; Coca cola Chicken… I just knew I had to make it!!

And you know what; it was surprisingly good. You have to know that I do not like cola at all. I never drink it nor do I drink any other fizzy drink (except the champagne variety..lol) so I wasn’t sure what to expect of this really quick and simple dish. It’s quite salty so be careful with adding extra salt here. It’s probably also due to my dark soy sauce being rather salty but it was still delicious.

What goes into the coca cola chicken?

  • skinless chicken tigh
  • cornflour cornstarch
  • light soy sauce
  • vegetable oil
  • 1 red chili 
  • ginger 
  • garlic cloves
  • 1 can of coca cola
  • dark soy sauce
  • spring onion
  • cashew nuts
Servings of the dish

How to prepare the coca cola chicken

Preparing the dish is fairly straight forward. You do have to keep in mind that you need about an hour to marinate the chicken. So it’s best to get that task out of the way. You can prepare the chicken in the morning and finish in the evening. Just leave the chicken to marinate in the fridge.

Cooking the chicken might take a bit longer. I’ve made this coca cola chicken quite a few times and I have found differences in the amount of time it took to cook down the coke. Apparently which brand of coke you use makes a difference in the end result. Just be patient; it will eventually happen.

Can I use cola light for this recipe?

If cutting down on the sugar is your goal than sure you can use cola light. However the result might not be the same. Due to the high sugar content in the regular sugar, you get that lovely sticky result. Using cola light might not work this well.

Can I leave out the cashew nuts?

Yes you sure can. You can substitute the cashew nuts for another type of nut, like almonds. or leave them out all together.

What can I use to serve the coca cola chicken?

You can serve the chicken with rice, cauliflower rice, potato puree, sweet potato puree (although it will get very sweet all together) or celeriac puree.

What can I substitute the soy sauce with?

If you do not want to use soy sauce you can substitute this for coconut aminos

Coca cola chicken with cashews

4 from 1 vote
GangMain
KeukenAsian

The perfect combination of sweet and salty. This dish will make you come back to it, over and over again. Also please note you need about an hour to marinate the chicken.
Prep time 10 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes
Total time 25 minutes

4 people

Equipment

  • 1 wok

Ingredients

  • 500 gr chicken thigh boneless, skinless
  • 1 tbsp cornflour cornstarch
  • 4 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 red chili thinly sliced
  • 5 cm ginger peeled and cut into 1m strips
  • 3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
  • 335 ml cola 1 can
  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 spring onion cut into slices
  • handful of unsalted roasted cashew nuts

  • Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and put in a bowl. Add the cornflour and 2 tbsp of light soy sauce and mix well. Place the chicken in the refridgerator to marinate for at least an hour.
  • Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned all over, then add the chili, garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
  • Pour the cola into the frying pan, adding just enough to cover the chicken; the cola will fizz up. Add the dark soy sauce and the remaining light soy sauce and let it simmer for about 15 minutes or so, until the sauce has reduced to a syrupy consistency. It should be thick and sticky.
  • Turn the heat of, add the spring onion and toasted cashews and give it a quick stir before serving. Serve with jasmine rice.

Nutrition Information per portion

Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 123mg | Sodium: 1610mg | Potassium: 374mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 235IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 2mg

Disclaimer

The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @insimoneskitchen_ or tag #insimoneskitchen!

Disclaimer: I received the book from Hardie Grant for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own

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Simone van den Berg

Food- and travel blogger from the Netherlands. Loves good food. Loves to taste good food the world over. She also loves to share travelstories, delicious recipes and ok, cat pictures too. She sometimes feels the need to get really healthy for a while, always mingled with periods of insanely delicious sweets and other decadent treats. Lives in the Netherlands with her two cats; Humphrey and Buffy. Profession: Food photographer, food blogger, recipe developer and nutritionist