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Tender Southern smothered chicken is seared until the skin is crisp and golden then simmered in a creamy onion gravy. Southern dish combines Asian bok choy for an easy and delicious fusion weeknight dinner. Keto friendly too!
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SOUTHERN SMOTHERED CHICKEN
Southern smothered chicken is has got to be one of my favorite southern meals. Plus, I'm a huge fan of chicken. Vegetables too, thanks to my grandmother who grew a lot of veggies when I was a kid.
I know you may be thinking, why smothered chicken with bok choy....well, to answer your question, I love southern food. I don't eat it too often, but when I do, I like to mix things up, like I did in this recipe.
BOK CHOY WITH CHICKEN
This year, I've been eating a good amount of Chinese greens called baby bok choy. I love it. It's basically a Chinese cabbage that's really good for you. One cup has 9 calories! I've made smothered chicken with Shanghai bok choy also. It's pretty much the same. One is bigger than the other. You can use either one to use in your smothered chicken. Bok choy is one of my favorite vegetables. Collard greens is my other fav.
Some say that baby bok choy has a sweet and mild flavor, whereas, Shangai bok choy has a mineral flavor. To be totally honest, I don't really taste a difference. If you've never made boy choy with chicken with a southern twist you gotta try this recipe out!
HOW TO MAKE SOUTHERN SMOTHERED CHICKEN WITH A TWIST
This amazing southern recipe with bok choy and mushrooms is, oh my goodness good and super easy! The chicken is smothered in a rich onion gravy. Pure deliciousness. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
And staple ingredients that I'm sure you already have. You'll probably have to go to the store for the baby bok choy or Shanghai bok choy. Pick one. No biggie right?!
Traditional smothered chicken recipes usually say to coat the chicken in flour first but I don't follow cooking rules...
Instead of coating the chicken in flour, I like to season the chicken then sear the chicken first on both sides until the skin crisps up. I use flour to help thicken the gravy. Here's the quick breakdown of the recipe.
Ingredients:
Smothered Chicken With Roasted Baby Bok Choy
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs with skin on
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small red onion diced
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 1 cup mushrooms add more if you like
- One bunch of baby bok choy cleaned dried and cut lengthwise then quartered
- ½ tsp or two of garlic
- ½ tsp or two of onion powder
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 2 cups milk
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base
- 1 tbsp flour
- salt and pepper for taste
Instructions
- Reserve 1 tsp of seasoning for later. Add the remaining seasoning to a small bowl. Mix well to combine. Season the chicken with the seasoning that was in the bowl. In a cast iron skillet with vegetable oil over medium high heat saute the onions for 2 minutes or until translucent. Add the garlic on top of the onions. Cook until fragrant.
- Remove the onions and garlic and set to the side. Add more vegetable oil. Over medium high heat sear the chicken on both sides until the skin crisps up. Drain most of the fat...Add milk and butter, the Better Than Bouillon base and the remaining tsp of the seasoning and flour. Mix well.
- Add the chicken, onions and garlic back into the skillet. Add the mushrooms. Set stove to medium high. Once boiling reduce temp to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Make sure to check the liquid. If it's getting thick too fast, thin it out with a bit of milk.
- Take the chicken out of the skillet and set to the side. Scrape the bits stuck on the bottom of the pan and mix it into the gravy. If the gravy is too thick add a bit of milk to thin it out some. Add the chicken back to the skillet.
- Steaming - Now we will steam the veggies easily using a one pot method. Add the bok choy on top of the chicken but hold up...you may have to push the chicken closer together just so the bok choy can lay on top of the chicken without it sinking into the gravy. But if it does not biggie.Set the stove back to medium high. Once boiling reduce to low. Cover the skillet and cook for about 6 minutes or until the bok choy is tender.
Notes
Don't forget to check out these other keto friendly meals, beef with broccoli with a twist, or maybe these steak rolls, beef asparagus rolls, cheeseburger salad
If you think this southern smothered chicken with gravy looks good, save it to your Pinterest Board or share it on Facebook. Let's connect on Pinterest too.
Jori
I've never had smothered chicken. I have to tell my husband that this is us in a chicken dish because he's Southern and I'm Asian. lol I love the fusion and can't wait to try.
Jori
Maman de sara
I never bought bok Choy because I don’t know how to add it in a recipe or how to cook it. What a great recipe April!
DEE
wow! this dish is pure heaven! I love how the book ahoy pops out . Always on the look out for good chicken recipe and can't wait to try out this one!
Karyl Henry
I'm not a big fan of collard greens, but I am ALL ABOUT baby bok choy! I love that you use it in this chicken dish. And that chicken....loving the glorious colors and flavors in this dish
April
Thank you Karyl!!!
Kelly Anthony
I love bok choy but I don't see many recipes that feature this delicious veggie. Excited to try your crispy smothered chicken with roasted baby bok choy and mushrooms.
Kelly Anthony
Jacqueline Debono
I love chicken too and we eat it often. This recipe is mouth-watering! Not sure I can find bok choy here in Italy but I'll look out for it!
Jacqueline Debono
Candiss
This smothered chicken looks super easy and delicious, i love the addition of bok choy as I rarely think of adding it to things!
Amanda
Looks like you don't even miss the flour because that chicken skin looks perfectly crisp and delicious. I've actually been craving some bok choy lately, so the timing of this is great. Can't wait to make it next week!
April
Yup I didn't miss it. Thank you Amanda! 🙂
Stine Mari
Chicken is my favorite protein, it is just so versatile. Also love bok choy, so this recipe looks just like my thing. Flavorful and comforting!
Stine Mari
April
Yes...bok choy is really so good. Sometimes I like to mix things up and do out of the box type recipes..especially fusion ones. Thank you so much Mari!
Cheese Curd In Paradise
You can never go wring with chicken smothered in a rich creamy flavorful sauce! I love the combination of bok choy and mushrooms- I can't wait to share this with my family.
Cheese Curd In Paradise
April
Thank you so much!
Byron Thomas
Bok choy is a relatively new ingredient in our home. We all love it and eat it whenever we dine on Chinese food, but recently we've started buying it and preparing it at home. For the most part, the bok choy goes into a stir fry, but I can't wait to try it with chicken and mushrooms! Looks amazingly delicious!!
April
Thank you so much Byron!
Kylee from Kylee Cooks
This looks super tasty! I love anything "smothered". It just screams comfort food to me!
April
Thanks Kylee!
Mahy Elamin
I want to eat everything pictured here!! This looks delicious! I will have to try it out. How dare you show me good food. lol
Mahy Elamin
JERE
I have a fondness for book Choy so to tie this green in with chicken is a winner for me.
Danielle Wolter
I WAS SOLD WHEN I SAW SMOTHERED, BUT THEN YOU WENT AND ADDED THE BOK CHOY AND I FELL IN LOVE. THIS SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE APRIL!
April
Thank you so much Danielle. It's absolutely delicious with the bok choy!
Gloria
You can never go wrong with a great chicken dinner. Always a hit with the whole family. Love the use of bok choy. A nice change from other veggies. My grandkids would love this next time they are over for dinner.
April
Thanks Gloria! Hope you can try it!