Asian Braised Chicken

This is the kind of chicken you make when you want dinner sorted and everyone asking for seconds.

It's a humble braise. Chicken legs and thighs go into a pan with garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup and calamansi, then a cup of Sprite (or any lemon soda). That might sound odd if you haven't grown up with it, but it's very Filipino. The soda adds a gentle sweetness and helps the sauce reduce down to a dark, sticky glaze that clings to the meat.

It's salty, sweet, garlicky and a little sharp from the calamansi, with black pepper to finish. Serve it over steamed rice with something green on the side, like the bok choy in the photo, so there's plenty of sauce to mop up.

Cheap cuts, a handful of store-cupboard ingredients, and big flavour. No fuss.