Friday, March 23, 2012

Slowcooker Sesame Chicken



My husband loves sesame chicken. When we go out to a Chinese or Thai food place, I know he is going to order the sesame chicken, and I am going to get sauteed chicken and broccoli with white sauce. The dishes come to the table and I desperately want to try some of his dish, but the deep fried flour coating keeps me at bay. Plus I know many of the brown sauce dishes at oriental restaurants have soy sauce, which is off limits to gluten-free eaters. It has become increasingly difficult to eat out, and more and more I want a delicious restaurant style dish at home that is gluten-free, of course. To be honest this sesame chicken made in the crock pot turned out even better than I expected. Even though this shredded chicken doesn't have the same fried texture, it has all the Asain flavor you would expect. I know you will love it too!

Ingredients
  for the sauce:
1 cup honey
1/2 cup tamari
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 whole diced onion
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup plain tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
pinch of garlic powder

6-8 chicken breasts (boneless skinless)
sesame seeds and chopped green onions for garnish
cooked white or brown rice for serving
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water



Directions.
In your slow cooker mix together all of the sauce ingredients. Be sure everything is completely mixed. Add the whole chicken breasts and mix to make sure the sauce coats all surfaces. Cook on low for 4 hours or until chicken is completely cooked through and soft.
When the chicken is completely cooked remove the chicken pieces to a cutting board and shred with two forks. In a small cup mix together 4 Tbsp of cornstarch and a little bit of water. Pour cornstarch into the remaining sauce in the slow cooker. Put the lid on and turn on high heat. Let the sauce come to a slow boil to thicken. If your slow cooker doesn't heat the sauce enough to thicken, pour sauce into a saucepan and complete this step with the cornstarch on your stove top. Then once sauce is thickened pour back into your slow cooker. Add the shredded chicken to the sauce and keep the slow cooker on warm until ready to serve.
To serve spoon shredded chicken and sauce over cooked rice and garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and chopped green onions.
Enjoy!

1 comment:

  1. This looks great! Even though I am not gluten-free, I totally appreciate this non-fried version...I hate that my favorite dishes at Chinese restaurants are always fried! I will definitely be trying this soon.

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