Sesame Chicken

I have been in the mood for some "Chinese" food.  And I do love the sweet and sour chicken. But making it can be a little time consuming. And though it is spring break, I have been busy today with other household chores (like baking sandwich bread and organizing the coat closet). 

So I needed easy.

But good.

Well, on Pinterest, I found just the right recipe.

Sesame Chicken.

It looked easy. Had good reviews. Was light in calories. And would partner well with fried rice which we will love to eat around here. 

So sesame chicken it was.

My pickiest eater said, "This is a really good meal even if it isn't sweet and sour chicken."  Trust me, that is a compliment coming from her.

And the chicken? ALL gone.  Nothing left.

There may have actually been a child licking the dish clean.

Yes, really.

I agree with all of the above. It isn't sweet and sour chicken (much milder) but it was good. And with the fried rice, it was an excellent pair.  We will definitely have this again, especially on those nights my time is limited.

Ingredients:
1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 to 2 pounds chicken tenderloins cut into chunks

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 Tbsp whole wheat flour (or whatever flour you prefer...the original recipe called for one but I doubled it since I had closer to 2 pounds of chicken)

1 Tbsp sesame oil (seriously, could anything smell better???)

2 garlic cloves minced

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1/2 cup chicken stock (I used broth since I had that on hand)

sesame seeds (the original recipe used both white and black...I couldn't find black so we just used white)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

The original recipe has you start on the stovetop with a skillet then move it to the oven. I try NOT to put my skillets in the oven if at all possible, so I just stuck a 9 x 13 inch dish in the oven and transferred the chicken to it from the skillet.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet at medium heat.

Meanwhile, put the flour, salt, and pepper in a ziplock bag. Add the chicken to the bag and shake away.

Place the chicken in the hot skillet and sear on each side of the chicken for about 3 minutes each side.

Meanwhile, mix together the sesame oil, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and chicken stock.

Once the chicken is browned, transfer to the hot dish (or keep in the skillet) and pour the chicken stock mixture over the top.

Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes.

Once cooked through, sprinkle sesame seeds over the top and serve.

Enjoy!