Sesame Chicken

In my search for the perfect low-fat Chinese food, I stumbled upon a recipe online for Sesame Chicken. I have experimented and tweaked it into what I believe to be perfection. Sticky, sweet, savory sesame chicken that is totally low in fat and calories. Score!



Nutrition (per serving): 231 calories, 21g carbs, 4g fat, 30g protein, 1029mg sodium, 1g fiber

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*Sesame Chicken
Serves: 4 | Time: 25 minutes (Prep: 10 minutes + Cook: 15 minutes)

-1/4 cup unbleached flour or 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
-16oz (1 lb) of boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced into 1-inch strips
-1/4 cup + 2 T reduced sodium soy sauce
-3 tablespoons white sugar
-1 1/2 tablespoons Truvia baking blend*
-1 teaspoon sesame oil
-1 tablespoon sesame seeds
-1 medium red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
-1 small onion, sliced into thin strips
*I use Truvia’s baking blend to cut down on some of the sugar calories. Feel free to use 6 tablespoons of sugar in place of 3 T sugar + 1.5 T baking blend. Your nutritional information will vary with changes to the recipe.

*Steps:
1. In a gallon-size plastic bag (or in a medium bowl), combine flour, salt and pepper.

2. Add sliced chicken, shaking bag or using hands to coat chicken completely in flour mixture. Discard extra flour.

3. Heat sauté pan/non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, spray with non-stick spray.

4. Add chicken to skillet and cook through, flipping every two minutes until cooked through/juices run clear (6-8 minutes). Transfer to plate.

5. Reduce heat to medium.

6. Saute peppers and onions until onions begin to brown/caramelize (2-3 minutes). Transfer to plate with chicken.

7. Combine soy sauce and sugar in skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to thicken (2-3 minutes).

8. Add sesame oil and sesame seeds, stirring to combine.

9. Add chicken and peppers/onion mixture to soy sauce/sugar mixture, tossing to coat everything evenly.

10. Heat an additional 1-3 minutes to further caramelize, tossing occasionally. Note: The amount of time that this dish takes to truly caramelize varies. Sometimes it will take no time at all. Others, it will take upwards of five minutes for the mixture to really come together. You will know it is thickened when the sauce underneath the chicken/veggies isn’t runny and and begins to coat everything. There will be some sauce leftover on the bottom of the pan, but most of it should be coating the chicken/veggies. If you’re not sure, an extra minute or two never hurts. :-)

11. Serve immediately over rice with some sautéed string beans.

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