Sesame Honey Chicken

Honey Sesame Chicken over rice

Sesame Honey Chicken. I love just about anything with honey & sesame flavors and I love Asian inspired foods. It is difficult to eat out at a lot of Asian places because the soy sauce contains wheat flour so I end up making most of my Asian food at home using gluten free soy sauce. I found this recipe on the internet and of course tweaked it to make it work for me. It is an easy recipe because you just make the sauce and pour it over the chicken in the crockpot and let it cook by itself. Great for a busy day! I LOVE crockpot recipes! Of course if you don't own a crockpot you can cook it in the oven instead for the same great results.

This recipe is meant to be served over rice but you can also serve it on buns for a casual sandwich meal (I recommend Udi's gluten free buns if you have a gluten allergy!). Everyone in our family loves Asian food so this is a great recipe to make when the gang is all over! I like casual entertaining but you can certainly dress this dish up using fancy dishes and additional side dishes. This meal looks like you spent a lot of time in the kitchen slaving but really it is quite easy to prepare which is why I like it so much!

Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe:

• 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken (I use breasts but you can use thighs)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (or you can be lazy like me and use 2 tsp. garlic in a jar)
• 1/4 cup Ketchup (or substitute tomato paste + 1 tbs. sugar)
• 1/2 cup Soy sauce (if you have a gluten allergy then make sure you use gluten free soy sauce. I used Tamari gluten free soy sauce in today's recipe)
• 2 tbs. sesame oil (if you don't have sesame oil you can substitute vegetable oil or olive oil. You won't get the exact same flavor as sesame oil but it will still work fine in the recipe)
• dash of red pepper flakes (I use about 1.5 teaspoons but you can add more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

*You will also need 1 cup honey, 4 tsp. cornstarch or tapioca starch and 1/3 cup water but not until the chicken is done cooking. (Instructions to follow). The original recipe called for adding the honey to the marinade sauce at the beginning but I felt the honey flavor got lost during the cooking time. The next time I made it I decided to add the honey at the end and we liked the flavor much better. You can also add an additional teaspoon of sesame oil when adding the honey if you prefer a stronger sesame flavor.

Place chicken pieces in crockpot. Mix the garlic, ketchup, soy sauce, oil and pepper flakes together to make the marinade sauce and pour over the chicken. Cover with lid and cook for 4-6 hours or until chicken is tender and moist. If you are cooking in the oven, place in a roasting pan or 9x13 pan with foil or lid. Bake covered at 300 degrees for about 75 minutes or until chicken is tender and chicken juices run clear when poked with a fork.

Chicken cooking in crockpot with marinading sauce

Remove chicken and shred or slice thinly. (Save sauce). Combine the 4 tsp. cornstarch (or tapioca starch) + 1/3 cup water & honey until smooth. Pour the marinading sauce (that the chicken was cooking in) into a saucepan along with the cornstarch/water/honey mixture. Cook on high-med heat for about 5-7 minutes stirring frequently until slightly thickened. Pour over chicken. (If serving on sandwiches then let the chicken absorb some of the sauce before spooning onto buns). You can serve over cooked rice or rice noodles. I recommend serving with a side of oriental vegetables. I also like to slice some green onions and sprinkle on some sesame seeds for garnish when serving over rice. If you are serving on buns for a casual sandwich meal, check out my recipe for Asian Noodle Salad (September 2012 post) which is a great side dish for a casual sandwich meal.

Topped with green onions and sesame seeds

Up close peak at the yummy sauce

Ready to eat! Yummy!

So this is what I ended up making for New Year's Day 2013 since it was simple, easy and I could leave it in the crockpot for a few hours while I ran errands. We enjoyed it.

Happy New Year!

Tanja

Gluten Free Casually