Chicken in Orange-Scallion-Sesame Sauce

I hope you're drooling already, because it's worth the saliva.

Source: Today's recipe is courtesy of the fabulous Rachael Ray - her cookbook called "2, 4, 6, 8. Great Meals for Couples or Crowds."


This is supposed to be a "30-Minute" Recipe, but the conclusion  is unless you prepare ahead of time, it takes more like an hour, or even more.  This was considered a meal for four.


Level of Difficulty: The most complicated part of this recipe was the prep work. There was a LOT of grating, zesting, and peeling. The actual putting together of the recipe wasn't that bad, but be prepared to have the tools you need to get everything ready.

Ingredients. I used frozen chicken, because keeping fresh
breasts just doesn't work when you have a tiny fridge and
only go to the store once a week.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
2 tbsp vegetable oil (eyeball it)
2 navel oranges
2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 tbsp tamari (dark soy sauce)
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds


Directions:


In a bowl, combine the coriander, cayenne, and some salt and pepper. Season the chicken breasts with the spicy mixture. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the vegetable oil, 2 times around the pan. Add the chicken and cook it on each side for 5 to 6 minutes, or until cooked through.

Spice Rub Deliciousness.

Massaging the rub into the chicken.

Getting golden brown.
A splatter screen is helpful
if you have one - messy!

While the chicken is cooking, zest both oranges and reserve the zest. With a pairing knife, slice off the peel and all of the pith from each orange. Slice each orange into 1/4-inch-thick disks and reserve.

Orange zesting. Be sure to cover
the full surface of the orange. It
does produce a lot of zest.

Peeling the orange and slicing.

I've never peeled fresh ginger before
and I wasn't sure how to go about it.
I wound up just using a paring
knife and trimming off the
skin. It smells AMAZING
while you're doing this.

Ginger, finely grated. It
almost makes a paste.

Remove the chicken from the skillet to a plate and cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. Return the skillet to the stovetop over medium-high heat and add the ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes - a little or a lot, you're in charge! Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the chicken stock and tamari and turn the heat up to high. Cook until you've reduced the liquids by half. Add the reserved orange disks, and the scallions. Continue to cook for 1 minute to heat the oranges and scallions. Add the sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.


Slice the chicken breasts and arrange them on a mound of rice or noodles, your choice. Top them with the orange-scallion-sesame sauce. Fin!

Garlic, ginger, salt & pepper cooking for just a minute.

Boiling down the sauce. 

Oranges, orange zest, and scallions ready to go.
And the sesame oil, since I forgot to put that
in the first picture.

Tell me that doesn't look AMAZING. Yum.

The final product!!

Casualties of war. As you can see, there aren't
any huge piles anywhere. This recipe was good
about only using a few dishes. The big pot
on the counter is from where I steamed my broccoli.

Tricks of the Trade:

• I use chicken bouillon cubes for everything. Much cheaper, and so easy. 1 cube + 1 cup boiling water = 1 cup chicken broth.
• I didn't use any red pepper flakes. I'm not a huge fan of spicy food and even using the full amount of cayenne pepper in the recipe was a stretch for me. In the long run, I'm glad I didn't have the red pepper flakes in it. The chicken still had a good kick to it, but didn't make me gulp down three glasses of water. If you like spice, definitely add the red pepper flakes!
• I used green onions instead of scallions. This is a nasty habit I have, but it's easier to find green onions and as far as I'm concerned, they're basically the same thing. (Go ahead, let the hate-mail begin.)
• I completely left out the sesame seeds. I couldn't figure out where they were in the grocery store and it didn't seem like a crucial enough element to me to go scouring the countryside. I think next time I'd like to try it with the sesame seeds in it, once I can find them. Any tips anyone, on where these are in the grocery store?
• My chicken always takes longer than 5 to 6 minutes to cook per side. I also turned it down to medium-low once both sides were browned to avoid having it burn. This could also be because I have a cheap electric coil stove, but...that's life.
• This recipe was supposed to be served on top of "Big Fat Spicy Sate Noodles" - another Rachel Ray recipe. However, I was not in the mood to mix this up well and to me, a dish like this should be served over rice anyway. And rice is a LOT easier. 
• I served steamed broccoli alongside this, but I'm not sure if that was the best complement to the dish. I think I would root for steamed snow peas next time. Just a thought. Let me know if you try it.

So... that's that! Let me know if you decide to try it and how yours turns out. We LOVED ours, and the smells were just as fantastic! (Not to mention your hands will smell wonderful after grating oranges and ginger. Yum.) 

Bon Appetit! :)