Roasted Pineapple Ginger Chicken with Cilantro Cream Sauce

                  

Marinade:

                 

4 cups pineapple juice

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 small red chile peppers with seeds, chopped fine

2 cups chopped cilantro leaves

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup soy sauce

4 tablespoons peeled and chopped ginger root

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 (3 1/2 to 4 pound) roasting chicken, giblets and neck

removed for another use

 

Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons ginger root, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 cup packed chopped cilantro leaves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

4 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon pineapple juice

6 cups jasmine rice, prepared according to package

 

instructions

Mix pineapple juice, garlic, peppers, cilantro, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger root, cumin, and olive oil well in large bowl.

Reserve some of marinade for basting. Rinse and pat dry chicken. Add chicken to bowl, turn and baste several times,

cover and refrigerate at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours, turning chicken and basting occasionally.

 

To prepare sauce, melt butter in 10 to 12-inch saute pan until sizzling. Add garlic, ginger root, cilantro, and cumin and

saute for about 4 minutes or until fragrant. Add soy sauce and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add whipping cream,

and cook until slightly reduced or sauce coats the back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lime and

pineapple juices. Can be made 2 days ahead - cover and refrigerate. Warm the sauce before serving.

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Remove chicken from marinade and place in roasting pan, just large enough to accommodate

chicken.Tuck wings under chicken and baste with marinade. Place in preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes. Turn heat

down to 350 degrees F and continue to roast for an additional 50 minutes, basting occasionally, or until an instant-read meat

thermometer registers 180 degrees inserted into thickest part of thigh. Prepare the jasmine rice according to package

instructions during the last 30 minutes of roasting. Remove chicken from oven, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 10 to 15

minutes before slicing. Serve slices of chicken over a bed of cooked jasmine rice with cilantro cream sauce drizzled over the breasts.