HONEY SOY CHICKEN WITH SESAME

Often times I find that after being on the go all day, I have little time to create an elaborate meal. I like to have dinner started or ready by the time hubby gets home so he can sit, relax, and enjoy. In the summer I find it more challenging to come up with interesting new recipes, but this is one that even our daughter loves (minus the rice, of course).

I also found that my “Veggie Twister” from Oceania Trade Link is ideal in making all sorts of veggies fun for my little person and her friends, not to mention it really makes a lovely presentation for parties or photos. This particular favourite gadget of mine turns ordinary veggies into veg-linguine or into veg-ribbons (depending on which blade attachment I want to use).

Chicken is probably my favourite meat to work with because it is so versatile and I just love the aroma of chicken cooking in my kitchen (or on the patio). This honey, soy and garlic sauce is very versatile as well and is delicious with veggies as well as other meats. I make a relatively small batch here, but you can play around with the measurements and find your own balance with this one.

Here we go…


INGREDIENTS:

500 Gms Chicken breast and/or thigh meat (boneless/skinless strips or chunks)
2 Tbsp Flour
*Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Cooking Oil (Rice Bran, Canola, Peanut)
3 Tbsp Good Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp Honey (or maple syrup)
2 Tbsp Cooking Sherry/Rice Wine
2 Cloves Crushed Garlic
1 Tsp Chinese Five Spice
½ Tsp Crushed Ginger
1 Tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
½ Tsp Ground Coriander Seeds
2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds, lightly toasted


DIRECTIONS:

First, mix the flour and pepper together and lightly coat all of the chicken pieces, then set them aside.

Next, mix the sauce together by adding the soy sauce, honey/syrup, sherry/wine, garlic, five spice, ginger and coriander in a small bowl. Mix the ingredients together well until you no longer feel the thick honey sinking to the bottom.

Now, heat the oil and lightly fry the chicken pieces over a medium high heat until chicken is lightly browned. I fry mine in batches to ensure even cooking, then put all of the chicken back into the pan at the end for incorporation with the sauce.

Once all of the chicken is browned (and all “batches” are back in the pan), pour in the sauce and increase the heat to high.

Allow this to simmer while constantly turning the meat over with a wooden spoon or spatula to ensure all chicken pieces are well coated.

When the sauce begins to thicken, quickly remove it from the heat and add the sesame seeds. That’s it!

I serve mine with steamed rice and fresh veggies, but this is also tasty if you add broccoli and/or baby corn to the pan before the sesame seeds. Stir fried veggies and noodles are also very tasty with this recipe.