I’ve talked about how much I love Chinese food and here’s another luscious, mouth watering, easy to make dish. It’s a little spicy with the chili paste (or hot sauce) and grated fresh ginger but not too spicy but feel free to leave those out if you don’t want it spicy. And be sure to check before purchasing oriental chili paste because most of them (all the ones I looked at in the store) contain wheat flour and therefore gluten. Serves 2-4 depending on serving size and the vegetables you add.
First prepare the chicken:
12 to 16 ounces boneless chicken breasts and/or thighs
Remove skin and whatever fat and silver skin you see. Cut into bite-size chunks and place in a gallon food storage bag. Add:
1/3 to 1/2 cup corn starch (or arrowroot)
Close the bag and toss the meat around to make sure it’s entirely covered by the starch. Place in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.
In a small saucepan combine:
2 tablespoons soy sauce substitute (see recipe under sauces)
1 1/2 tablespoons ketchup (sugar free)*
1/2 teaspoon chili paste (or hot sauce which is what I used)
1 1/2 tablespoons date sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Stir to combine. In a small bowl whisk:
1/3 cup stock (chicken or vegetable)
2 teaspoons cornstarch, arrowroot or xanthan gum
Whisk to make a slurry and then pour it into the saucepan. Heat the sauce over medium heat, whisking often until it starts to heat up and you see a few bubbles from a slow boil then whisk constantly until the sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and add:
2 tablespoons TOASTED sesame seeds (you can buy them that way)
Stir in the sesame seeds and set the sauce aside. Over medium heat, heat a 12″ skillet with:
1 tablespoon olive oil
When shimmering hot, add the cubed chicken. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, spread out the meat so it’s in a single layer in the pan and cook, stirring often, for 5-7 minutes until the meat is cooked through (time will depend on how large the cubes are). Once the chicken is cooked, pour in the sauce and mix to combine. Cover and remove from heat.
For vegetables, whatever your family likes will work. I used 1/2 cup of shredded carrots and 1/2 cup of frozen peas which I zapped in the microwave for 2 minutes before adding to the chicken mixture. But broccoli, bok choy, snow peas, celery, onions, water chestnuts, green beans, will work just be sure to cook them before adding to the sesame chicken. Or if you prefer, leave out the vegetables and serve a vegetable dish on the side. I served this over brown rice but again, Thai noodles or linguini would also work.
*For those of you unfamiliar with the product, Organicville makes a ketchup containing agave nectar instead of sugar. No one I’ve ever served it to knew it wasn’t “real” ketchup.
cookingwithoutallergens 