- 25. 2021
SOY SAUCE CHICKEN
Made with Gluten-free products.
Serves: 4
Here is my take on a low-fat version of a dish I have always enjoyed at our favorite Chinese restaurant at the corner of Baxter and Canal Streets.
As I enjoyed it so much when we would go down to Chinatown, I had to try my hand at cooking this at home since we could not eat out due to the shut downs. I researched the recipe and was surprised at how easy it was then riffed it.
After I removed the chicken from the skillet, I placed a pound of cut up Bok Choi into the skillet, added a t of crushed red pepper for heat and stir fried the lot to serve with the chicken and rice.
Prep the chicken:
Chicken:
Boneless skinless chicken - 1 lb. thighs, breasts or tenders sliced or gently pounded (I prefer thighs)
Baking soda – 1 1/2 t
Freshly ground black pepper - ½ t
Water – 1 t
Vegetable oil – 2 t (2 T)
Sauce:
Star anise – 1, crushed or roughly ground
Bay leaf - 2
Garlic - 2 T minced
Ginger - 2 T minced
Tamari - 4 T, or light or low-sodium soy sauce
Vinegar - 4 T, Shaoxing rice wine or any other Chinese wine
Brown sugar - 3 T
Garnish:
Toasted sesame seeds – 2 t
Scallion – 1, thinly-sliced
Let’s get cooking:
Whisk the baking soda, ground pepper, water and oil together in a bowl. Pat the pounded chicken dry and toss with the baking soda mixture and set aside while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Heat a large ceramic coated skillet on medium high or slightly lower heat for 5 minutes or use your favorite cast iron or other skillet.
Add 2 t (2T) oil to the skillet and let oil get hot, 30 seconds.
Add the chicken to the skillet and brown on both sides, about 2 to 4 minutes per side. Remove to the bowl and set aside to rest. The chicken will not be fully cook through.
If needed add more oil to the pan, 1 t (1 T). Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
Add the whisked soy sauce, vinegar(s), and sugar, star anise, bay leaf to the skillet. Stir to scrape up anything stuck in the bottom of the skillet. Bring sauce ingredients to a simmer, 1 minute and lower heat and reduce by 1/3.
Place the chicken back into the skillet and turn around to coat the chicken with the sauce so that the chicken has that glazed effect and cooked through.
Serve with white rice and a green of any sort or julianne (4 c) any crunchy vegetables. (Soak the raw vegetables in ice water crisp them up and drain while the chicken and sauce are cooking.) Remove the bay leaves from the sauce and discard. .
Serve any sauce left in the skillet separately to add to the rice or vegetables. (Unless you cooked the vegetables in the skillet with the sauce) toss the crisped vegetables with a dressing made of ½ t ground pepper, 2 T white rice vinegar and 2 t toasted sesame oil to taste.
This is a yummy meal. It is easy and fast. Just watch out for the saltiness.
Enjoy!