Much healthier than take-out and made in your slow cooker!
At best, the original recipe for this Sesame Ginger Chicken was ok.
I just found it quite bland. Like "eh, I could totally throw this away and not ever think about this dish again if I wasn't so against wasting food"
How could I make this better and make it worth eating?
I remembered there was some fish sauce in my refrigerator from when I made kimchi a while back.
Woah now! Before you immediately click out of this recipe, I have a point. And my point is not that fish sauce is delicious and you should put it on everything.
Fish sauce is, for lack of a better word, gross. I love fish, all seafood for that matter, but a fishy sauce? No thank you!
But fish sauce is great for adding depth or complexity to a dish.
It's perfect in this boring sesame honey chicken! {And I changed the name from Sesame Ginger Chicken to Sesame Honey Chicken because the ginger is not very pronounced in this dish}
I know I know: you don't know where to buy fish sauce or maybe you don't want to buy it. I have solutions for both...
First, fish sauce is found in a lot of major grocery stores, not just your Asian food stores.
Obviously, there are probably better options at the Vietnamese, Thai, and/or Chinese groceries but the fish sauce in your regular grocery store's Asian or ethnic section are perfectly suitable. {I found mine at Walmart & Whole Foods. They also sell it online.}
Make sure you buy fish sauce with a short list of ingredients: fish or anchovy, salt, water
Please do not buy one that has MSG! Please! That stuff is evil! {Yes, I am dramatic, but whatev}
I'm sure there will be some people who can't find fish sauce or are opposed to buying it, so I did some experimenting...
After a thorough google search, I decided on soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and lime juice or rice vinegar as some additions to the sauce to help improve its drab flavor.
Results:
I like the fish sauce best but a combination of soy & Worcestershire sauce with a touch of lime juice or rice vinegar is a close second.
Either way you go, this is really quite tasty.
Plus, it is so much better for you than your typical take-out food. It's 260 calories per serving {without rice} or 420 calories with rice.
And it has less than 550mg sodium and under 13g sugar. All of which are pretty impressive considering the alternative - takeout usually has over 1000mg sodium and tons of added sugar!
I will forwarn you that it does take a few extra minutes of effort than the other slow-cooker recipes I've been posting. But it's definitely worth the effort to make the thick sauce that goes over the chicken & veggies!
Slow Cooker Sesame Ginger Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 to 1.25 lb. chicken breast or tenders {skinless thighs work too}
- 8 oz . carrots {about 3 large} chopped
- 4 mushrooms chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 tablespoon grated or minced ginger {from about ½" piece of peeled ginger}
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic {about 3 cloves}
- ½ cup chicken broth or water
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce divided
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1-½ teaspoon sesame oil divided
- ½ teaspoon Sriracha sauce
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce {see Notes for alternative}
- ½ cup cold water
- 2-½ teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder optional
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger optional
- 4 green onions chopped
- 2 tablespoon sesame seeds toasted
- 4 cups cooked brown rice for serving
Instructions
- Put chicken in base of slow-cooker, then top with carrots, msuhrooms, bell peppers, and celery. Sprinkle with ginger and garlic.
- In a small bowl, whisk together ⅔ cup chicken broth {or water}, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, honey, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, Sriracha sauce, and salt. Pour over chicken & vegetables.
- Cover slow-cooker and cook on Low for 6 hours.
- When chicken is done, use a slotted spoon and take the chicken & vegetables out of the slow cooker. Put them in a bowl, and set aside.
- Put a fine mesh strainer over a saucepan, and pour the sauce from the slow-cooker into the saucepan. {The strainer keeps any vegetable or chicken pieces that you might have missed from getting into the sauce.}
- Stir in fish sauce and remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce & ½ teaspoon sesame oil. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Whisk together ½ cup cold water and cornstarch, and pour into sauce. {Add the optional garlic powder & ground ginger here if you are using them}
- Whisk constantly until sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, and either pour sauce over chicken & veggies or add chicken & veggies to sauce. Toss gently to coat.
- Serve the sauce-covered chicken & veggies over cooked brown rice. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and green onions. Serve any additional sauce on the side.
Notes
*This can be gluten free if you use a gluten-free soy sauce or alternative.
*This is based off this recipe from Pillsbury
*Nutrition Facts calculated including 1 cup of rice per serving.
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