Yesterday was one of those days. Although we don’t leave to New York until Friday morning, I have taken tomorrow off of work to prepare, so I have been busy at work trying to get everything finished and everything in order before I leave. So by the time the day was over yesterday, I was dead on my feet. All I wanted to do was go home, change into some comfy clothes, and veg on the couch and watch American Idol.
But I was hungry. And I haven’t been to the grocery store for awhile now, knowing that we would be out of town for a week. We didn’t even have anything around I could just snack on for dinner. In comes an easy, fast meal that can be made from what I had in the cupboard and freezer. And dinner was on the table in the time it took to make the rice!
This recipe comes from the current issue of Cooking Light. (So you can feel good about eating it as well!) It was super easy, and I loved the combination of sweet and a little spicy. But this recipe does need something more. Although I am normally a recipe follower, taking very small liberties with recipes, this is one that I feel confident that I could play around with and come up with something even better. Here’s what I would change:
- It definitely needs a veggie or two. Although I like my protein, some sugar snap peas or broccoli would have really perked this up.
- I only did half the amount of chicken from the original recipe, but the full sauce recipe. I would up the sauce even more next time, because in the end, it didn’t even really have very much sauce.
- Speaking of the sauce – I would add a lot more ginger. I think the ginger is supposed to be a prominent flavor, but I could barely detect the ginger in the finished dish.
- And the sauce never really caramelized. I think there was too much liquid, so I would play with those amounts as well.
The recipe listed below is how I made it, but feel free to play with this one, because it really does have a lot of potential!
Chicken Sauté with Caramelized Ginger Sauce
adapted from Cooking Light May 2008
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek) **I just used Sriracha
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon sesame oil
(6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sugar to pan; cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves and is lightly browned.
Combine soy sauce, chile paste, and ginger in a small bowl; add to pan. Add chicken broth, sesame oil, and chicken to pan; cook 5 minutes or until chicken is done, stirring occasionally.
Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spoon. Simmer sauce 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Return chicken to pan; toss to coat. Sprinkle evenly with pepper and salt.
Serve over rice.
Thanks for posting– it sounds so delicious! I will be making this and playing with the recipe as you suggested.
some of the best stuff i’ve ever made came from tweaking magazine recipes to suit my own tastes. then again, some of my biggest disasters came about the same way… 🙂
This sounds like a good dish and your picture makes it look very tasty! i like your additional thoughts on the recipe…how about adding some pineapple chunks too? i don’t know, i’m not the greatest on improvising recipes either. Anyways, have a wonderful trip to NY!
Looks good…thanks for your comments…I have to make it and see what i think!
Sounds good to me! Wishing you a nice trip and a wonderful time in NY. Have fun! 🙂
Im happy to see you gaining the confidence to change up the recipe a little. The flavors in this sound really good. Cant wait to readabout your NYC adventures!
Mmmmm,
This sounds so good right now! What a great recipe and light too!
This looks delicious. I would love to eat something light like this tonight!
And have fun in NY!
I love these kinds of dishes! Especially while my husbands gone, they’re easy to make for a dinner for one:) Looks yummy
Great recipe! Playing around with recipes is one of my favorite things to do. It has taken a lot of practice and some hits and misses, but you learn a lot about what works and doesn’t work. Have fun in NY!
Looks great! I like those quick meals when I’m exhausted. It’s defintely something Brad would eat, too. (And I might add some carrots and broccoli!)
Wow!!! This sounds incredible!!!! Love the sound of the caramelised ginger sauce!
PS have a tag for you on my blog.
Gotta love the ginger!
Definitely a doable recipe and you better have a terrific time in the city!!
chicken with caramelized ginger sauce – you know you’ll me eating out of your hands with this one!
I think I’m going to have to take a peek at the latest Cooking Light Magazine. And yeah, I think it needs something greenish. Or maybe some red bell peppers?
That does sound tasty. I agree that some vegetables would be nice. Caramelizing the sugar in the oil first sounds really interesting. I will have to try.
Looks delicious! I go crazy over chinese food!
oh i love this sauce; caramelized ginger sauce! it sounds so “nouvelle cuisine”!! i bet this sauce could go well too with porc or any white meat fishes.;thanks for sharing..i’ll definitely try this
I haven’t had a chance to look through my CL this month, but I’ll note this recipe for sure!
Have fun in NY!
This look delicious! I like your ideas for improving it, too.
Have a great trip!
This sounds soooooo delicious!! Many thanks for sharing this with us 😀
Rosie x
I made this last night with shrimp instead of chciken, searved it with asparagus and jasmine rice. I added more garlic chili paste and about 1T of cornstarch. Me lovesit!
I made this last night with shrimp instead of chciken, searved it with asparagus and jasmine rice. I added more garlic chili paste and about 1T of cornstarch. Me lovesit!