Oven-Fried Chicken

I hate frying food at home because the exhaust fan is faux. It does not blow the oil and odor out of the house. Each time I fry, the jars on top of my kitchen cabinets are covered with grease.

Moreover frying uses up lots of oil even when the food is drained on paper towels after being taken out of the oil. Frying results in larger consumption of fats even when I use polyunsaturated Canola and olive oil.

So I was delighted today to find baking does a fine job in place of frying. Here's the recipe for these simple, oven-fried chicken thighs.

Ingredients: 2 lbs. chicken thighs and drumsticks; 4 medium cloves garlic, crushed and peeled; juice of 1 lemon; 2 Tb. dark Chinese soy sauce (Pearl River, for example); freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste; 1 1/2 Tb. olive oil.

Directions: 1. Marinate chicken in all ingredients except oil at least two hours or better yet overnight. 2. Pre-heat oven to 400°F. 3. Drain chicken parts before arranging on grill. 4. Cook for 30 minutes. 5. Using brush or Misto non-aerosol spray, brush or spray oil sparingly on the chicken and return to the oven for 15 minutes. 6. Turn chicken and bake another 15 minutes. You should not need to spray with oil again since the oil would have dripped down to cover the bottom of the pieces. 7. Take out when chicken is cooked through i.e. inside no longer pink but outside is brown and even crisp. 8. Serve hot.