Orange Ginger Chicken

 My husband recently had to leave for a week for a work trip so it was me and these crazy little people alone :) They keep me entertained, that's for sure.



 

 
 

 

 

I wish I could say I was cooking up gourmet meals every night at 5pm while wearing my prettiest apron to my freshly scrubbed well behaved children sitting patiently at the dinner table...

 

Laughing Yet?? ;) Yeah, me too.

 

They did get fed, and it was all homemade and healthy, but that's as far as it went. And to be truly honest, I sat at the table while they ate relishing in the fact that I could cook later for myself and eat quietly after the kids were in bed....it's the small things, right?

 

My hubby will eat most anything I cook, but he really would be ok if he never ate any sort of Asian food ever, so I took the opportunity to cook some for myself and not feel guilty :)

 

Orange Ginger Chicken (without the husband guilt)

 

Yes!! It's SO good!!!

This recipe is really just for the sauce, so you could use it with pretty much any meat or vegetables. You could use boneless skinless chicken breasts - cube them, bake them, pan sear them, fry them...whatever.

 

My chicken was the good old flour and pan fry kind. I imagine pork could work well here too.

Whatever you use, I would cook up the chicken (or pork or whatever) separately and have that ready. I would transfer the meat to a plate to rest but KEEP the good pan juices to start the sauce.

 

 I think its best to prepare the sauce and then add it slowly to the meat to taste. Asian food can be pretty flavorful and the last thing you want to do is have soppy soggy sauce laden chicken...no good.

 

Orange Ginger Sauce

 

1 clove garlic, minced
3 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

1 cup fresh orange juice

1.5 tablespoon sweet chili sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce (organic is recommended)

1 teaspoon oil ( I used grape seed oil but coconut or olive oil would work as well)

 

Use the pan you cooked your meat in, just transfer the meat out but keep the good pan juices at the bottom. Add the teaspoon oil and heat to medium/medium high. Add in ginger and garlic and sauté a couple of minutes until browned but be careful to not burn.

 

Add in chili sauce and grated orange peel and cook one minute more. Add in orange juice and soy sauce, stir to combine and loosen anything stuck to pan. Reduce heat to medium if not already there and cook 5-10 minutes until sauce reduces by about a third and is slightly syrupy but not sticky. Take sauce off the heat and add in sesame oil. Let sauce cook slightly and add to meat a little at a time.

 

Top with toasted sesame seeds and green onions...and sit in a quiet room and eat slowly without any guilt :)

 

Happy Eating...