Barbecued Raspberry-Hoisin Chicken

This is a beautiful, out-of-this-world flavored dish! You will love this, simply put! I do hope you will try this, and share it with your friends. Note: when preparing orange zest, only use the orange part, the white part is very bitter and does not go into the recipe. You can marinate the chicken up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1  cup fresh raspberries or 1  cup frozen raspberries
• 3⁄4 cup hoisin sauce (thick spicy or sweet sauce found in the Asian section of your store)
• 5  tablespoons rice vinegar, divided
• 1  garlic clove
• 1  strip orange zest (2 by 1/2 inch long)
• 1  tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
• 1⁄8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1  pinch crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
• 1 1⁄2 lbs  boneless chicken thighs, skinless, trimmed, each cut into 3 crosswise strips
• 2 1⁄2 cups water
• 1  cup long grain brown rice or 1  cup  short grain brown rice
• 1⁄2 cup  sliced scallion top, divided (not the tops)

Directions

1. Combine raspberries, hoisin sauce, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, garlic, orange zest, ginger, pepper, and crushed red pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend or process until smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside 1/4 cup for a dipping sauce.
2. Transfer the remaining marinade to a medium bowl and add chicken; stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
3. Combine water and rice in a medium saucepan and bring to a bowl. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, until ready to serve.
4. Preheat grill to medium-high or preheat the broiler to high.
5. Meanwhile, remove the chicken from the marinade, scrape off excess(discard marinade), and thread onto 4 skewers, distributing equally.
6. Grill the chicken until browned and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. If using the broiler, place the chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray and broil 4 inches from the heat source until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
7. Just before serving, sprinkle the rice with the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1/4 cup scallions,fluff with a fork. Sprinkle the chicken and rice with the remaining scallions. Serve with the reserved dipping sauce.