Have your meal plans this month consisted of tons of healthy chicken and vegetable dishes? Well I have another one for you!!! I promise you, it will not be your everyday healthy meal. And I promise you, you'll want to make it again. We're going Asian with a ginger garlic chicken made sticky and crisp with honey.
Cast Iron Cooking--Sticky, Ginger Chicken
Staub recently sent each of us a cast iron piece to try out. I already have a large dutch oven, so I really wanted a short, wide, kick-fanny braiser that would produce some perfect crusts on my chicken. What I love about cast iron is its ability to do just this. It sears so well, it's perfect for anything where you want each piece cooked exceptionally well. It holds heat like no other, and really, it's not that hard to take care of. The pieces that I have are enameled cast iron, so it has a protective coating that totally helps. Best way to get a crisp, tender chicken? Season with some ginger, garlic, and cayenne, then throw some honey on it and let the natural sugar do its thing. The perfect chicken. Thanks, Staub, well-done (get it?!).
This recipe stems from an older side dish we've had on the site submitted by a friend years and years ago. It's a great side dish on its own, interesting vegetables simply dressed with soy sauce and topped with toasted almond slices. I decided to pair the asparagus, juicy mushrooms, crunchy water chestnuts, sesame seeds, green onions, and toasted sliced almonds with some yummy ginger chicken--spiced just right, then coated with sticky honey. And rice, because, well, carbs.
I made a large batch of this and portioned out leftovers into individual tupperware containers for both my husband and myself to eat over the next several days. Such a healthy way to bring in the New Year!
Sticky Ginger Chicken and Veggies
Ingredients
Sticky Ginger Chicken
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 ½ Tablespoon ginger powder
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- ½ Tablespoon salt
- ¼ Tablespoon cayenne
- ½ c honey
Veggies
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 bunches asparagus ends chopped off and each stem cut into thirds
- 1 lb sliced mushrooms
- 5 oz. can sliced water chestnuts
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon ginger paste
- ⅓ c soy sauce
- ½ c honey
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon cold water
- 2 bunches green onions sliced
- ½ c sliced almonds toasted
- sesame seeds for garnish
- 4 c cooked rice--I like to do this in my pressure cooker while I'm doing everything else
Instructions
- Heat sesame oil over medium/high heat in large cast iron or other sturdy pan. Sprinkle seasonings over both sides of chicken, reserving honey. Cook each side of chicken 5 minutes. Remove from pan.
- If there is any liquid leftover in the pan, reduce it by heating over high heat, stirring frequently until liquid is almost gone. Add more sesame oil to pan, heat over medium/high heat. Add asparagus, mushrooms, water chestnuts, garlic, and ginger. Stir fry for about 5 minutes. Push veggies to the sides of the pan, creating a space in the middle.
- Add soy sauce and honey to the pan, stir and cook over medium high heat for a few minutes until hot. Push veggies to the side to create a space in the middle. Make a slurry with the cornstarch and water in small bowl, then whisk into the simmering sauce in the middle. Whisk until thickened. Mix well, then remove from pan.
- Turn heat up to high and return chicken breasts to pan. Pour half of honey (¼ c) over chicken breasts, flip over to sear honey into chicken. After several minutes, pour remaining honey over chicken, flip over again to sear remaining honey onto other side. Once honey has caramelized and chicken has a bit of a crust, remove from pan.
- Serve with rice, chicken, veggies and sauce, then top with green onions, toasted sliced almonds, and sesame seeds.
Nutrition
Erin V says
I've been wanting to find good ginger recipes apart from stir fry, so excited to try
!