Sesame Seed Chicken

Here’s a great way to liven up the ever-versatile boneless, skinless chicken breast. It’s my own concoction, loosely based on all kinds of recipes I have seen. You can tweak the sauce as much as you like to your taste, just be sure to stick with the basics of Asian food: both sweet and hot.

I served this last week on a bed of rice (how fancy!) with a side of cooked carrots and sliced cucumbers and radishes.

Here’s what you need:

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to about ½ inch thick

Lots of sesame seeds

Fresh ginger, grated or minced, to taste

Fresh garlic, mince, to taste

½ C dry white wine

2 T honey

1 C chicken stock (I think I used veggie stock)

½ t sesame oil

2 T hot Asian chili sauce

1 T hoisin sauce

Soy

Here’s what you do:

Dredge the pounded breasts in lots of sesame seeds. Saute them in a tiny bit of oil, turning only once until golden brown. Remove from pan.

To make the sauce, sauté the ginger and garlic for about a minute. You never want any garlic to brown because it will be totally bitter and ruined. Just let it warm up and cook through here. Add the wine, honey, chicken stock, sesame oil, chili sauce and hoisin sauce. Whisk until smooth and continue to cook for about 5 minutes until a bit thicker. Season with soy to taste.

Slice the chicken, serve over rice or couscous, with the sauce drizzled over all.