Honey sesame chicken is a popular Chinese takeout order, but you can make a much healthier and more nutritious version at home with your slow cooker.
We love making Asian inspired dinners at home because it allows us to control exactly what ingredients are going into the meal – and we don’t have to skimp on any of the flavour.
With this recipe, you still do a little stir frying (the red and green bell peppers really make the dish pop), but you have the added benefit of tender, slow cooked chicken. After the chicken cooks for a few hours in a honey and soy sauce mixture (you could take this time to brush up on your chopsticks skills), transfer to a skillet or wok along with the vegetables for a quick sauté.
You could serve it over rice (we used a rice cooker to make perfect sticky rice), or in lettuce wraps for a handheld meal. If you want to make this a low-carb recipe, just omit the rice from the lettuce wraps.
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- Hot cooked rice
- Combine soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, ginger and red pepper in slow cooker crock.
- Add chicken to soy sauce mixture. Stir to coat chicken with sauce.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or LOW for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
- Remove chicken from sauce. Transfer sauce mixture to skillet. Blend cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water. Over medium-high heat, add cornstarch and cook until thickened. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to sauce. Add red bell pepper strips and cook 4 minutes or until peppers are crisp tender.
- Serve over rice. Sprinkle with green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
TAGS: Asian, chicken, Chinese, CNY, slow cooker
CATEGORIES: Everyday Recipes, Healthy Eating, main courses