If you would have asked me a year ago if I have ever cooked with honey, I would have said, “Heckkkk no!”
If you would have asked me six months ago if I even liked honey, I would have wrinkled my nose in disgust.
Honey is something that my darling Husband has been trying to get me to enjoy since we met in 2009. I have never liked it: The taste, the texture, the idea, the sticky residue it leaves everywhere… Gross. But then… the almighty allergy season hit in Florida and he (sneaky man that he is) convinced me to eat a spoonful a day of local raw honey to help build a resistance to local pollens. The results were kind of shocking for silly me – the severity of my allergic reactions dwindled to almost nothing because of that teaspoon of torture every morning.
Eventually, though, I started to enjoy the wildflower and orange blossom taste (It was pretty strong because we wanted the most potent to help with allergies). By the end of the cute little honey bear, I decided honey was something that I could tolerate (although, I admit I had to chase it with water each time I took my dose).
One of his oh.so.clever ways he convinced me to undergo the trial of honey-for-allergy relief, was by pointing out how much I loved a dish at a local Thai restaurant: little pieces of chicken breaded and coated in a ginger-honey glaze over rice. It really is a fantastic dish, and I’ve wanted to create something similar for a while. So we tried.
We are definitely still perfecting the technique of this recipe, but as far as flavor goes – it is very enjoyable.
Honey-Ginger Chicken Bites
Total Time: Prep: 25 minutes, Marinate 2 hours+, Cook 25-30 minutes Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound chicken (boneless, skinless thighs or breasts), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons water
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the first (9) ingredients in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Seal and shake until ingredients are well incorporated. Add the bite-size chicken pieces to the glaze, seal the bag, and toss to coat. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.
- When almost time to cook, preheat oven to 425°.
- Remove chicken from the bag with a slotted spoon, reserving marinade. Arrange chicken in a single layer on the rack of a sprayed or greased broil ban. Season with salt and pepper, and bake at 425° for 20 minutes, stirring once.
- While chicken is cooking, strain marinade through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Place strained marinade in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes, then skim any solids from the top. With a whisk, mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and then add to saucepan. Whisk until incorporated, and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; pour glaze into a large bowl.
- Preheat broiler.
- After 20 minutes or so, remove from oven and add the pieces to the glaze; toss well to coat. Place chicken mixture on a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet); broil 5 minutes or until browned, stirring twice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.
Adapted from: My Recipes
Sounds yummy!!! Glad he convinced you to try honey, its pretty amazing.
I’m definitely gonna have to try it once we move… I’ve been wanting chinese food lately, but its so restricting what one can eat on a GF diet because everything pre-made and in restaurants has reg. soy sauce.
Love this site!
Im excited to try this because it is breaded and yet doesnt require eggs for said breading to stick to the chicken!!! By the way i forgot the name of your blog so I goggled your name + life because i knew it was something life and it actually came up! AND im totally going to try eating honey because my allergies are horrible this time of yearm any suggestions on what kind to get?
Hey!
Make sure it is local raw honey – from Country Aire, Sunny Farms, or the farmers market. One spoonful a day. It worked fantastically for Wes and I this season with the orange blossoms etc.
Breading without eggs is pretty easy, you just have to understand why the eggs are used: to cause the breading to stick (and in some cases for specific flavor). We dip chicken in water, then flour, then a sauce or liquid if some sort – not oil – often we use seasoned beer or just milk with seasoning, etc, then flour or breadcrumbs.
Hope it turns out well.