Sesame Chicken

This weekend we did some things around the house. Including shut down the garden for the season. We didn't have a very successful summer. We tried. And that's ok. No tomatoes as the squirrels ate them all. We had a few radishes and 2 okra. Here's the remainder of our summer harvest!

Sad! The carrot was super good, we but it in half and each had a small taste. The radishes were radishy. The pepper...squishy.

Oh well. Next year I think we're going to focus on flowers and herbs and continue to get our summer veg from the Community Market.

Saturday night I made another quick recipe that I received in my email from Everyday Food. A "lighter" version of Sesame Chicken. It was good, but I realized while I was making it that I had an extra dark version of the soy sauce, so my final dish was really dark and rich, with a flavor almost of molasses.

Sesame Chicken from Everyday Food

The sauce of honey, soy, sesame seeds.


I don't like broccoli, so I used carrots. Use a veg you like.


Seriously...one of the most used kitchen gadgets I have. Outside of the toaster and the coffee pot, this is used more than the mixer or food processor. Takes all the guess work out making perfect rice. And funny...today the Washington Post has an article about Rice Cookers.


The final dish. Tasty, but like a side, a darker, heavier flavor than I expected.

Lighter Sesame Chicken
¾ cup brown rice
3 TB honey
2 TB sesame seeds
2 TB soy sauce
1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed with a garlic press
2 large egg whites
¼ cup cornstarch
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch chunks
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 TB vegetable oil, such as safflower
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 ½ pounds broccoli, cut into large florets, stems peeled and thinly sliced

Directions
1. Place a steamer basket in a large saucepan, and fill with 1 inch water; set aside for broccoli. Cook rice according to package instructions.

2. Meanwhile, make sauce: In a small bowl, combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and garlic; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites and cornstarch*. Add chicken; season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add half the chicken; cook, turning occasionally, until golden and opaque throughout, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and chicken. Return all the chicken to skillet; add reserved sauce and scallions, and toss to coat.

4. Meanwhile, place saucepan with steamer basket over high heat; bring water to a boil. Add broccoli, and cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Serve sesame chicken with broccoli and rice.

*As I noted in the two previous recipes I made using this method (here & here), for one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast 1 egg white and 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch create enough of a batter for the chicken.