I’ve been on an Asian food kick lately, and I’m not mad about it.

Growing up, we ate a lot of Asian food. Some families enjoy Mexican, some enjoy Italian…ours loved Asian cuisine.

My mom made stir-fry a lot, like once a week, and she has the best shrimp tempura recipe I will need to share here soon. Last night, my parents came over for dinner so I knew they would be great guinea pigs for this Orange Sesame Chicken recipe I’ve been wanting to try.

Honestly, it was delicious and will definitely be added to our monthly menu. Everyone (except Luke) ate this meal and loved it. Luke came down with a cold, hopefully nothing worse, and didn’t have much of an appetite. Otherwise, he would have been alllll over it.

Make this 20 minute meal tonight or later this week. It’s simple, delicious and only takes about 20-30 minutes from start to serve time.

Serve this dish with a side of Asian cucumber salad and steamed rice.

Enjoy!

20 Minute Orange Sesame Chicken

PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
SERVES: 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 to 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut very thin and in small cubes)
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic or 3 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon ginger or fresh ginger
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Juice from ½ an orange and some zest
• 6 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• Green onions, for serving
• Steamed white or brown rice for serving

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, cut chicken breasts in width and into small cubes, mix together well with four and 4 tablespoons of soy sauce until well coated, set aside
2. In a separate mixing bowl, combine 2 additional tablespoons soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, juice from an orange and orange zest. Mix well and set aside
3. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and cook floured chicken until golden brown, then add mixture from second mixing bowl. Turn heat up until boiling, and then down to simmer, cover and stir often to completely coat the chicken, cook for about 10-15 minutes. If chicken marinade seems to look like it’s drying out, you can add water to create a nice sauce
4. Remove skillet from heat and serve chicken over steamed rice, top with green onions and sesame seeds as garnish, serve warm

*If you’re looking for an alternative side to the steamed rice, you can serve this chicken with an Asian Cucumber Salad

*Can easily sub out chicken for pork, shrimp or cauliflower for a vegetarian option

Asian Cucumber Salad

• 1 tsp Honey
• ⅓ cup rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 seedless cucumber, sliced very thin
• ¼ cup red onion, diced
• sea salt and red pepper flakes to taste

Mix all ingredients together and serve on the side