Tested Low-Calorie Recipe: Honey Sesame Chicken

I came across this post on Pinterest a long time ago and finally had a chance to try it. Unfortunately, I was running late today so I decided that I had to tweak the recipe a little so that it could be done quickly, rather than as a slow-cooker dish. Turns out, this was another example where finding a solution to a problem actually produced better results in the end!

I realized that following the recipe exactly when I planned to stir-fry the chicken actually produced WAY TOO MUCH SAUCE! See picture below:



As you can see, the chicken was basically SWIMMING in sauce. Here is what I scooped out that was excess sauce which filled an entire large bowl:

The good news was this meant I could make a ton more chicken with the same recipe and serve a bunch more people, thus making the recipe a LOT fewer in calories than the original. Below is the recipe I would use if I did it again.



Low Cal So Cal's Honey Sesame Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup honey
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sesame seeds (or as desired)
1/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium sized bowl combine ketchup, honey, soy sauce, vegetable oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes.

2. Cut chicken breast into 1-1.5 inch cubes.

3. Add chicken breast pieces to bowl with marinade and mix together. Refrigerate marinated chicken for at least an hour.

4. Using a slotted spoon, remove and place chicken with as little sauce as possible into a pot or a deep sauce pan (leave room to pour the sauce back into this pot or pan). On medium heat, cook chicken all the way through.

5. Pour the marinade into a separate pot. In a small bowl, mix corn starch and water. Add the corn starch mixture to the pot with the marinade. Heat on high until the sauce reaches a desired consistency. Add more corn starch if necessary.

6. Once chicken is cooked, pour sauce over the chicken. Simmer the chicken in the sauce on medium-low for five minutes. Then sprinkle sesame seeds on the chicken and serve over rice or vegetables! Bon apetit!

NUTRITIONAL INFO (per serving, recipe makes enough chicken for 6 people):

Calories: 390
Carbs: 51 g
Fat: 8 g
Protein: 31 g

I would love to hear how it turns out for you!