Belle’s Recipes: Asian Honey Sesame Chicken

For all the girls moving into Opus or off campus this year, the idea of losing the DH option is looming. Sure, you might not miss the monotony of choices or the abundance of unhealthy options, but cooking every day for yourself? Kind of terrifying.

Have no fear! I love to cook, and I have created, tinkered with, and tested out tons of recipes throughout my time in the kitchen. I’m here to share the best of the best: the easiest, the yummiest, the healthiest, and the cheapest (because let’s face it, our budgets aren’t huge).

Today’s recipe is a sweet & slightly spicy Asian Honey Sesame Chicken. This recipe should take about 30 minutes and will produce 6-7 servings.

If you want a smaller serving size, cut the recipe evenly in half. However, leftover chicken is great rewarmed or reworked into another recipe! If you want to save the leftovers for longer than a few days, freeze in an airtight bag or container.

Ingredients:

1.     1 tbsp of butter

2.     3-4lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Sauce

1.     ¼ cup of honey

2.     ¼ cup soy sauce

3.     2 tbsp ketchup

4.     1 heaping tsp minced garlic

5.     1 tbsp brown sugar, packed

6.     1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

7.     1 tsp dry ginger

8.     1 tsp sesame oil

9.     1 tsp cornstarch

10.  1/4 tsp black pepper 

Optional:

1.     1 tsp Sriracha (add to sauce if you like things spicy!)

2.     ½ tsp sesame seeds

3.     2 green onions, sliced

Instructions:

1.     Prepare sauce by combining all ingredients above in a bowl and whisking until full mixed. Set aside for now.

2.     Heat butter on high in a 12 inch skillet until fully melted and boiling.

3.     Once skillet and butter are hot (you’ll know if it’s hot enough if the butter is boiling or slightly steaming), drop the chicken in. Keep the burner on high. The chicken will immediately start sizzling and browning in the pan – this is good! You want the outer skin of both sides of the chicken to get a golden brown sear before moving on. This should take about 4-5 minutes.

·      Keep in mind that the chicken will NOT be cooked through after it is brown on the outside. Chicken (unlike other meats) must be cooked through before eating.

4.     Once chicken is browned on the outside, turn the burner down to medium-low and pour in sauce. Leave the pan uncovered and let the chicken & sauce simmer together for another 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink inside. You will be looking for the chicken to be a whitish brown inside, but still juicy. If the juice is pink, that’s okay!

5.     If you chose to include optional ingredients, garnish the chicken with the sesame seeds and green onions now.

6.     Serve hot over rice (brown or white) and with a green vegetable (I recommend sugar snap peas).

Leftover chicken is easy to repurpose into a stir fry, chicken salad, or sandwich. You can also just reheat it – or even eat it cold!

Photo provided by the author

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