Billy Law’s Coca Cola Chilli Chicken

Already a popular blogger, Billy Law came to far better known after reaching the top seven of Australian Masterchef 2011. His first cookbook, Have You Eaten? reflects his eclectic and wide-ranging cooking, including of the cuisine of his native Malaysia as well as a wide range of Eastern and Western dishes and influences.

Read more about the book.

We were keen to try his recipe for Cola Chilli Chicken, as I’d been reading about savoury recipes featuring Coca Cola for such a long time.

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We skipped the cashews, as Pete’s not a fan, but otherwise followed the recipe as it was. We did find it needed quite a bit longer for the liquid to reduce down, but that may also be a factor of the size and shape of our wok and the heat we cooked over. Otherwise, it was very straightforward.

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The finished dish was absolutely delicious. The sauce wasn’t sickly sweet but beautifully balanced. Given how easy it was to cook, this is likely to be something we make again.

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And it makes me even more excited to try many of the other recipes in the book.

 

Billy Law’s Have You Eaten? is currently available from Amazon UK for £16 (RRP £25).

Kavey Eats received a review copy from Hardie Grant Books.

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17 Comments to "Billy Law’s Coca Cola Chilli Chicken"

  1. Kathy

    Fascinating! (A former housemate of mine is Chinese-Malay, and we were young students, learning a great deal about cooking and baking together and from each other during the time we lived together.)

    Coca-Cola was an ingredient I’d not learned about until later in life. (As a beverage, of course, it was ubiquitous throughout American/Canadian culture and society.) In the southern U.S.A., it’s been used in cakes, and in the past several years I learned of its use in a recipe for glazed ham. (In my part of America, we’re renowned for a very spicy ginger ale which is a key component in a recipe for glazed ham.)

    Well done, Kavey (and of course, Pete, too!) and thank you for the info on the chef, the cookbook and this specific recipe, too.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    Ginger ale sounds like a good soft drink to use for cooking, shall have to try that.

    Reply
  2. Corina

    I keep hearing about savoury cola recipes too and it’s something I think I will try eventually. I imagine it goes really well in Chinese-style dishes.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    Yes, it gives a caramel-sweetness that balances with the salty sour part of the spectrum…

    Reply
  3. kaveyeats

    I’ve been reading about cola ham for ages but neither of us are huge ham fans so have never made it. When I came across this one, I knew it was time to bring the coca cola into the kitchen!

    Reply
  4. Sarah, Maison Cupcake

    Knowing how well Coca Cola works with cooking big joints of ham I’m not surprised this is a success. It had not occurred to me to pair it with chicken but looks well worth a try. I hadn’t come across Billy before but I’ll look out for him now.

    Reply
  5. Kathryn

    This sounds really delicious – I’ve tried the Nigella coca cola ham but I’m intrigued to see how it works with chicken. Definitely a book to look out for!

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    I have come across the ham recipe, but I’m not a huge ham fan, so I’ve never tried it. Chicken thighs, on the other hand, and I’m at the front of the queue!

    Reply
  6. Jen

    I’m currently watching Billy in Masterchef as I missed it first time round. I have his pork belly dish bookmarked to try and now have put this book on my wishlist.
    Actually, someone I know online is bringing me back Chris Badenoch’s book from Australia whilst she’s there over Easter, as it doesn’t seem to be available here and I fell totally in love with him last year!

    Reply
  7. John Winton

    Great recommendation Kavey!
    Was looking for a different dish and this turned out very tasty. I did do an all day marinade and use red onion rings rather than spring onions.
    I will certainly be looking out for the book.

    Reply
    John Winton

    p.s. I skipped the cashews too – not that I don’t like them just prefer them nibbled with an aperitif before the meal not during it!

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    So pleased you liked it… and interesting that you did an all day marinade. Am thinking one could easily prepare up to the marinade and then freeze the chicken in bags, in the marinade, ready to finish the recipe another time?

    Reply

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