It's a new year which has me trying to create a bit more calm in the chaos, a bit more simple in the complex. This week my goal was to plan meals and cut back on food waste by buying only what I needed for them. Easier said than done but I will count this week a moderate success anyways, baby steps right?
In my search for inspiration and a few new meals to try I pulled out "Against All Grain" by Danielle Walker. I love this cookbook but haven't taken the time to make too many of the recipes yet. I've been in a rut. When I happened across her recipe for Slow Cooker Sesame-Orange Chicken I was eager to try it. I love me some good Chinese food but it is hard to find any minus the gluten. I've attempted to throw together my own combos a few times but none have turned out quite how I wanted. This one hit the spot. I think the secret is in the tomato paste and the simmering of the sauce at the end but I'll let you decide if you agree. I did change up the recipe a bit from the original. All the ingredients are the same but I prepped this meal the night before so my Hubs could throw it in the slow cooker while I was at work. If you are making this all in one afternoon leave out the ziploc bag step and just add directly to slow cooker. Danielle suggests serving this over cauliflower rice but cauliflower was not on sale this week. I opted instead for sauteing up some red cabbage "noodles" in sesame oil with a splash of coconut aminos and rice vinegar for added flavor.
Slow Cooker Sesame-Orange Chicken
Ingredients:
- 2lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1/3 Cup Coconut Aminos
- 1/3 Cup Honey
- 2 T Orange Juice
- 2 T Tomato Paste
- 1 T Toasted Sesame Oil
- 2 t minced garlic
- 1/2 t ground ginger
- 3/4 t sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 t cracked black pepper
- Garnish: Sesame Seeds
Method:
- Wisk together all ingredients minus chicken and sesame seeds
- Trim any visible fat off chicken thighs and put them into a gallon ziploc bag
- Pour sauce into bag with chicken, seal pressing out all air and stick in fridge
- When ready, dump chicken and sauce into slow cooker spreading chicken evenly across the bottom
- Cook on low for 4 hrs
- Remove chicken and chop into smaller pieces
- Transfer sauce to a sauce pan and simmer over medium heat for 20 min or until it has reduced by half
- Add chicken back to sauce and garnish with sesame seeds
