Orange Ginger Sweet & Spicy Chicken
To recap for anyone who missed the earlier posts: I’m really pleased with this cookbook: 6 Ingredient Solutions by Americas Test Kitchen. You would think that because I’m a food blogger I always have a perfect dinner on the table. But…not so much. Like everyone else I have nights where I just can’t seem to get dinner pulled together. This cookbook has really helped me out with this one. In fact I was so pleased with the cookbook after trying my first recipe I decided to do a week of recipes from 6 Ingredients. Though since I’m a food blogger I couldn’t just leave well enough alone and try the recipes as is… I tweaked and played. So now I’m sharing with you my thoughts on the original recipes and my adaptations. So…
Day Two: Sweet and Spicy Glazed Chicken– The original called for: vegetable oil, boneless skinless chicken breasts, oranges (fresh juice and zest), ginger, hot pepper jelly, and cilantro.
- This sounded different, tasty and super easy. I didn’t really feel like there was anything objectionable about the recipe, though my husband hates cilantro (sad face!) so I knew I would have to omit that or he wouldn’t be too happy.
- The ingredients I actually ended up using: Close to what was called for… I used thighs and breasts, because the boys like dark meat best and I go for white meat. I didn’t have any fresh oranges on hand and wasn’t running to the the store… so orange juice from the bottle and jared zest that I picked up once for baking. I am lucky enough to have a stash of homemade pepper jelly from my mother in law so that was awesome. I keep fresh ginger on hand a lot of the time, love it and added more then the original recipe called for, and of course I omitted the cilantro. The biggest change in my oppinion: the addition of soy sauce. As I was cooking, I just felt like it was screaming for soy sauce. I think I was looking for extra salt, and the soy sauce kept to the Aisan-esque feel I was starting to get from the dish.
- The results were: pretty pleasing. I served the chicken with white rice and a mixed veggie. My husband remarked on how good it smelled right when he walked in the door after work. And both he and my older son ate it without complaint (and actually finished the leftovers). I wasn’t in love with it but I thought it was a nice weekday change, it reminded me a little of orange chicken from Panda Express but not quite. I personally could have gone for a little more heat in the dish. I think I will garnish mine with Sriracha next time because my guys don’t really take food too spicy. However even better if you like heat is cooking the Sriracha right into the sauce. But I do think there will be a next time for this dish. Plus the added benefit is that it really was fairly quick to cook and certainly easy. (Oh and I had all the ingredients or a good substitution on hand!)
Michelle’s Orange Ginger Sweet and Spicy Chicken
Ingredients
- a splash of olive oil for browning
- 6–10 pieces of boneless skinless chicken (I used thighs and breasts)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup orange juice (fresh or pre-made is fine)
- 2 tablespoon orange zest (fresh or jarred is fine)
- 1/2 cup red pepper jelly
- 2 tablespoon of fresh ginger minced (powdered is fine too, but ginger flavor will not be as developed)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1–2 tablespoon Sriracha (optional, adds extra heat)
Instructions
- 1. Heat a splash of olive oil a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking add chicken pieces to the pan. Salt and pepper the top of the chicken pieces right in the pan. Use as much salt or pepper as you desire. Watch the chicken fairly closely to ensure you don’t burn the chicken. Depending on your stove you may want to reduce the heat slightly.
- 2. When the bottoms of the chicken pieces are browned flip them over and brown the other side.
- 3. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan, place on a plate and set aside. Add orange juice, zest, red pepper jelly, ginger, and soy sauce to the pan. Stir well to combine all ingredients. Adjust heat and bring sauce to a low boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and return chicken pieces and any juices left on the plate to the pan. Cover and simmer until chicken pieces are fully cooked through, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Cook time will vary depending on what chicken pieces you selected.