Healthy Honey Sesame Chicken { GF, DF, Nut & Egg Free}
This recipe came about from sheer lack of inspiration for the chicken recipes I had on my menu plan. While they were all good recipes I felt like I wanted something a little different than our usual offerings that I normally have on rotation. I started scouring Pinterest for some chicken recipes and a thought popped into my head for some delicious Honey Sesame Chicken. I use to work at a Chinese takeaway joint in the food court of my local shopping centre and trust me I've had my fair share of Honey Sesame Chicken and the craving for it hit hard and fast. So I set myself on a mission to create a damn delicious version of my favourite dish.
The recipes I perused involved in dunking the chicken in an egg wash and flour mix before deep frying and coating with lots and lots of sugar and honey. While this probably is delicious it wasn't something I would want to eat time and time again. However, this dish delivers not only on the healthy front but hits the flavour punch out of the park. I have noted this dish is gluten, dairy, nut and egg free becuase the process of coating and cooking the chicken involves no egg wash or flour mix. I used a combination of arrowroot (or tapioca) with brown rice flour for the serious crunch facotr for th coating on the chicken.
The addition of a touch of tamari with chicken stock and honey gives the honey glaze to the chicken. It really is to die for. Hubby LOVED this dish and gave me a high five for creating something so good. I think he was in the same boat as me with being a little uninspired with dinner of late. It was great for a change to enjoy something different and we will be adding this dish to our recipe rotation. I did a massive Asian cabbage salad and egg noodles (which aren't gluten-free) to serve with the Honey Sesame Chicken but you could also serve it with a big bowl of stirfry vegetables and rice. Whatever floats your boat at the time. I would love to say the kids thoroughly enjoed this dish but they were having a picky night and weren't too sure about something different. I'll try it again with them and I'm sure the sweet, crunchy chicken will lure them in next time.
Healthy Honey Sesame Chicken
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
- 900g chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tbsp rice flour
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 cups finely shaved white cabbage,
- 1/2 cup green beans, steamed
- 1/2 capsicum, finely sliced
- 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
Instructions
In a large wok add in a few tablespoons of olive oil and place on a low heat.
In a large bowl add the chopped pieces of chicken thigh, rice flour, corn flour and salt. Toss to combine the chicken and flours until thoroughly coated.
Turn the heat up on the wok until it starts to smoke slightly and add in a quarter of the chicken pieces into the pan. Let the chicken cook for 2-3 minutes on one side and turn to cook for a further 2-3 minutes or until golden brown on all sides. Remove and place into a clean bowl and repeat the process with the remaining chicken.
In the wok add a little more olive and add the garlic and ginger and quickly saute for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the chicken back to the wok and toss to combine the chicken with the garlic and ginger.
Add the tamari, chicken stock and honey to the wok and toss to coat. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce reduces and thickens to create a thick glaze. Turn the heat off and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top of the chicken.
Serve over the top of the Asian Cabbage Salad.
Asian Cabbage SaladIn a large salad bowl add all the salad ingredients and toss to combine. Pour over the mayonnaise and toss to coat the salad. Serve up in bowl and top with the Healthy Honey Sesame Chicken.
