FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Food

Make the Prettiest Grilled Chicken of Your Life with This Hibiscus Petal Sauce

Sweet hibiscus flower combines with coconut to create a flavorful fuchsia sauce that will change the way you think of grilled chicken.

We know you don't consider yourself a grilled chicken person. That insipid white meat is for Kardashian lunch orders and forgettable side salads, or—worse yet—your colleague who goes to the gym during their lunch break and plans meals based on protein-to-carbohydrate ratios.

But dismissing grilled chicken in favor of its flashier fried cousin is a huge mistake. It's actually quite easy to make this notoriously flavorless dish anything but; you just need a good sauce.

RECIPE: Hibiscus Chicken

British Nigerian chef Lopé Ariyo can help you there. She's all about mixing traditional West African flavors with influences from the wildly varied food scene of her home in South London. Her signature ingredient is hibiscus, a native African flower that takes on a sumac-like aroma when dried, and adds a pretty pink color to whatever it's mixed with.

In Nigeria, hibiscus is usually used in drinks, but Ariyo combines the dried petals with lemon juice, coconut water, and coconut sugar to create this bright sauce that's ideal for grilling chicken.

The result is a floral, fuchsia, and—most importantly—flavorful chicken dish. Sorry, reality stars and gym bros; this one isn't for you.