Honey Sesame Chicken

Photo from Damn Delicious
I've had this recipe from a website called Damn Delicious sitting in my drafts for awhile and decided tonight was the perfect moment to pull it out.  With social isolation in full effect, I needed to find something to do other than sit around, so I might as well stand in the kitchen and made something homemade and new.

In general, this recipe comes together quickly. The one thing that took me more time was the browning. They say 2-3 minutes on each side to brown. But I found using butter to brown in limited the temp a bit. Also to avoid grease splattering everywhere, it was a good idea to turn the burner down. So browning the meat took longer for me.

On another note, while the meat was cooked in 25 minutes, it wasn't fall off the bone tender which I prefer. However other than the browning and the cook time, the recipe came together easily. You just mix up the sauce, brown the chicken, pour the sauce over and pop the pan in the oven.

What did I serve with it?  Rice cooked in vegetable broth to give it a little extra flavour flavour, fresh cooked beets that were diced and tossed with a little butter, salt and pepper, and a lettuce salad with carrots, red peppers and snap peas thrown in.  The pan juices from the meat are also great to drizzle over the rice.

Enjoy!  And if you give it a try be sure to comment on this blog with your thoughts!

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Honey Sesame Chicken

Ingredients - 

2 T           Unsalted Butter
8              Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1/4 C        Honey
1/4 C        Soy sauce
2 T           Ketchup
2              Cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 T           Brown sugar, packed
1 T           Rice wine vinegar
1 T           Freshly grated ginger
1 tsp         Sriracha
1 tsp         Sesame oil
1 tsp         Cornstarch
1/4 tsp      Ground black pepper

Garnish - 

1/2 tsp    Sesame seeds
2             Green onions, thinly sliced

Directions - 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Whisk together honey, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, ginger, Sriracha, sesame oil, cornstarch and pepper in a small bowl; set aside.

Melt butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side (it took me a longer). Stir in honey mixture.

Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes. Then broil for 2-3 minutes, or until caramelized and slightly charred.

Serve immediately, garnished with sesame seeds and green onions, if desired.

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