Sesame Chicken

Do you remember take-out? My favorite thing to order was Sesame Chicken! Some of my favorite dates with my husband included Chinese takeout and a good movie! Since going gluten-free I haven’t eaten Chinese takeout (clearly their soy sauce is NOT gluten free) even during two gluten-free pregnancies. After a few tries, I have finally gotten a recipe for Sesame Chicken that the family loves. Big Dan probably the most! He literally cried for a second and a third helping. That boy will surpass his big brother any day if he keeps this up.

And speaking of takeout, there is exciting news in the Raleigh area for those on special diets. Rosie’s Plate, a gluten-free catering company, just opened up in downtown Raleigh. Rose Waring decided to pursue this catering business after caring for her two young children with multiple food allergies. She realized that having to cook every meal was a daunting task! [I agree!] Her business model is an interesting one. She rotates her menus every two weeks and you have to give her company a day’s notice of your order. I am very excited about this new opportunity for the allergy community of Raleigh. Her prices are very reasonable.

When I visited Rosie’s Plate on Wednesday, I met a woman who was picking up a menu for her teenager. Apparently, she used to order all her child’s baked goods from Babycakes in New York City. She said that the thing her child missed the most was fried chicken. When I told her it would be relatively easy to make fried chicken, she laughed and said that cooking just wasn’t her thing. Hmmm…maybe her teenager wants to swap babysitting for gluten-free cooking lessons?!

Here is the link to the article in the Raleigh News & Observer (yours truly is quoted) about Rosie’s Plate.

I am submitting this sesame chicken recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Kalyn’s Kitchen. This blog event invites bloggers to write about a vegetable, herb, or flower. My sesame chicken recipe includes green onions, which are my absolute favorite. I LOVE that you can actually use your leftover bulbs to grow even more green onions.

SESAME CHICKEN

1 1/2 lbs of chicken tenders (cut into thirds/bite size pieces)

1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon of San-J’s Wheat-Free Tamari Sauce

2 1/2 Tablespoons of rice vinegar plus 1 teaspoon (you can substitute another if you don’t have it)

1 cup gluten-free chicken broth

1/2 cup sugar (don’t faint; I am trying to mimic the take-out sesame chicken, so reduce if you feel you must)

1/4 cup cornstarch plus 2 teaspoons

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

3-6 dried hot pepper pods

1/4 cup sesame seeds

green onions, chopped

cooked jasmine rice

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, 1/4 cup of the tamari sauce, vinegar, and chicken broth. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine chicken pieces, remaining 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes. Once the chicken has marinated, add egg whites and cornstarch and stir until well-blended.

In your wok, heat oil over med-high heat. Cook chicken (in about 3 batches) until golden on both sides- this will take 3-5 minutes. Remove chicken from wok with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Cover with foil to keep the chicken warm. If you have more than a couple tablespoons of oil left in the wok, discard the remaining oil( leave just a few tablespoons in the wok). Reduce the heat to med. Cook the garlic and pepper pods for about a minute. Then add soy sauce mixture. Increase heat to med-high and cook sauce for about 15 minutes. Stir two teaspoonfuls of cornstarch into a little water and whisk it into the sauce. Once the sauce is thickened and bubbly, add the chicken and sesame seeds. Top with green onions and serve over jasmine rice.

Serves 4-6

Notes: Don’t faint when you read the amount of sugar! I tried to make this recipe with less, but it just didn’t feel as much like the take-out version. If you do decide to reduce the sugar or use agave syrup, you may need to use more cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I suggest just thinking of it as dessert!

You could also try adding a tablespoon of dry white wine to the sauce.

Note: Tamari Sauce is well worth the money and completely delicious. If you use soy sauce consider backing off the amount as it has a stronger flavor.

If you liked this post, please Stumble it! or Add to Del.icio.us.

Posted by Natalie
Filed under: Chicken Recipes

---

More Posts Like This:

• Braised Kale with Sesame Seeds
• Bombay Chicken
• Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
• Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas
• Mixed Greens, Cilantro and Purple Cabbage Salad