Sesame-Soy Chicken

You won’t believe how easy this chicken dish is, but yet so delicious and tender and juicy.  All you have to do is make the marinade, add the chicken, marinate it, and— voila—you have something for dinner.  This recipe will come in handy for busy people, especially for busy moms like me.  When you are too busy to cook, you want something simple and easy.  Sometimes, I don’t like to spend hours in the kitchen, especially when I am too tired to cook.

I remember when I used to live in Hawaii, a former co-worker brought this delicious short ribs.   She didn’t give me the entire recipe, but she did mention she marinated it with Sesame oil and soy sauce.  Thus, this recipe is created. You can make it in the morning or the night before and leave it in the fridge until it’s time for dinner.  You can make a side dish while the chicken is simmering. It will be ready by the time the chicken is done.

Sorry, but I didn’t have much time and my family were hungry, so this is the only picture I have. You might want to add this to your recipe collections because this dish really is very simple and delicious.

My children don’t like spicy food, so I made it without the chili sauce, but you can add it if you prefer.  This chicken recipe is also great on the grill.

Ingredients:

• 8 pcs. chicken thighs, skin on, deboned, and butterflied
• ½ cup Sesame oil
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 4 stalks of green onions, cut about 2 inches long
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 (thumb size) ginger, peeled and pounded
• 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. paprika (smoke flavor is even better)
  
• 1 tsp.  ground black pepper
• 4 tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 lime
• 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce (optional)

Instructions:

• Make the marinade by combining Sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, onions, paprika, sweet chili sauce, and garlic in a large plastic container with a lid. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
• Add the chicken and marinate for 5 hours or overnight making sure all chicken is marinated evenly.
• Heat a skillet with a lid over medium heat and add oil when hot.
• Add the chicken directly from the marinade to the skillet.  Discard the marinade.
• Cover the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Turn the chicken over to the other side. Cover and let cook. Do not open the lid.

• The chicken will sweat, thus creates the sauce.  Let it simmer in its own juice.
• Keep turning the chicken leaving it alone for about 5 minutes each side. Cover and let cook until sauce thickens a bit.
• Turn the heat to low at this point. Keep turning the chicken over until the chicken is coated with the thick sauce like you see in the picture.
• Squeeze lime over chicken before serving.  Serve warm over rice.

Note:  The cooking process varies depending on your stove.  Do not attempt to cook the chicken over high heat, you will not get the same outcome as you see in the picture. It will burn too quickly before the chicken is cooked and there will be no sauce to coat the chicken.