Sesame Chicken

The other day I passed by a Chinese Restaurant in Slovenia and I thought to myself just how much I really do miss Chinese food. Sure a good stir fry scratches that itch for a salty soy sauce craving, but it only fixes it temporarily. I miss quality Chinese dinners full of stir fried rice, sesame chicken, shrimp lo mein, and even a scoop full of Mongolian beef to finish it off. But not all is lost! About a month ago I came across a recipe on allrecipes.com, which for the record is one of my favorite sites, and a recipe for sesame chicken jumped out at me. I realized that hey, it really isn't that hard to make this dish and it is easily made gluten free thanks to GF soy sauce!!! I have now made this dish twice and each time it gets better and better. Pair it with some stir fried rice and you wouldn't even know it wasn't take out Chinese from your old favorite spot around the corner!

Sesame Chicken

Marinade

~2 tbs white rice flour
~2 tbs cornstarch
~1/4 tsp GF baking soda
~1/4 tsp GF baking powder
~2 tbs GF soy sauce
~3 tbs water
~1 tsp vegetable oil
~1 dash sesame oil
~1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed

Sauce

~1 cup chicken broth
~1/4 cup white sugar
~1-2 tbs rice vinegar
~2 tbs GF soy sauce
~2 tbs sesame oil
~1 tsp GF chili paste
~1 clove garlic, minced
~1/4 cup cornstarch
~1/2 cup water
~2 tbs sesame seeds, added at the end

Mix marinade ingredients together. Then stir in chicken, coating completely, and place in fridge. After 30min., remove chicken from fridge. Heat 2tsp. olive oil in skillet and fry chicken until cooked. While chicken is cooking, heat sauce in wok or skillet. Bring chicken broth, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili paste, and garlic to a boil. Mix cornstarch with water and stir until smooth. Stir the cornstarch water mixture into boiling sauce. Simmer sauce until clear, about 2-3 minutes, and then reduce heat until chicken is done. Pour 2 tbs of sesame seeds into sauce and pour sauce over chicken. You may find that you have more sauce than chicken, that is why it is important not to put the chicken into the sauce, but pour it over the chicken so you have the perfect amount. I have tweaked this recipe quite a bit. You may find it too sweet, so only add part of the sugar and then sample the sauce. Or you may like the zang of vinegar, in that case, add a bit more vinegar. Add or take out little amounts until you find the perfect sauce for you! Serve over plain rice or fried rice, complete with chop sticks.