Honey Sesame Asian Chicken

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We made up some delicious Ham Fried Rice the other day, and we needed something to pair it with. What better than some Asian style chicken?!

This sweet and savory take on classic Chinese foods will have you salivating! Its tender with crispy skin. This recipe is super easy to whip up! And since we always grab chicken when its on sale to keep on hand, this may become a go to for whenever we want to mix up our chicken game!

Honey Sesame Asian Chicken

Chicken, Chinese, Comfort Foods, Dinner, Meat

Honey Sesame Asian Chicken

Ingredients

3 lbs chicken thighs
1 cup pineapple juice
2 TBS olive oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp ground ginger
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
1 TBS honey
Sesame seeds
1/4 cup chopped green onions (optional, for garnish

Instructions

Prehead oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place chicken on rack on baking sheet. Place pineapple juice on the pan underneath the chicken. Cover the pan with tinfoil, sealing the chicken and juice inside. Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove chicken from oven and remove the tinfoil. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees. Cover chicken in olive oil and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile in a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, ground ginger, rice wine vinegar, and honey. Simmer on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fully combined and warmed through.
Remove chicken from oven. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Drain juices out of pan. Take chicken off of rack and place directly onto the baking sheet.
Pour sauce over chicken. Place back in oven for 10 minutes.
Baste chicken with pan drippings and excess sauce. Cook for another 10 minutes, basting again and sprinkling with sesame seeds. Bake for a final 5 minutes.
Allow chicken to rest before serving. Garnish with green onions.

Want more chicken recipes? Check here to use up all that chicken you bought on sale!

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August 19, 2019August 22, 2019

Ham Fried Rice

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Around here, we looooove Chinese takeout! Unfortunately, with our budget we have a hard time justifying the cost. As cheap as some places can be, I’ve always known its cheaper, if not easier, to just make it ourselves.

We decided a couple of weeks ago to try our hand at ham fried rice. And guys… I think I’ve been ruined for restaurant fried rice.

My biggest complaint of restaurant fried rice is that it is too dry. Knowing now how much work goes into making it, I figure most rice is made in bulk early in the morning and served old all day long. Though this is okay when you haven’t had anything better, once you’ve had fluffy moist ham fried rice, you just can’t go back.

We bought our ham in big loaves when they were on sale. We sliced up half of it for sandwiches, and then froze the rest in big hunks, ready to thaw if we needed more sliced or for recipes like this one. We may run through all that ham though now that we have this recipe at our fingertips.

Ham Fried Rice

Chinese, Comfort Foods, Dinner, Eggs, Meals for a Crowd, Meat, Sides

Ham Fried Rice

Ingredients

5 cups of chopped ham
9 cups cooked rice
1/3 cup sesame oil
1 1/2 sweet onions, chopped
3 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed
1/2 cup + 1 TBS soy sauce (more or less to taste)
9 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup chopped green onions (optional, for garnish)

Instructions

Preheat a large wok to medium heat. Pour sesame oil into the bottom, reserving about a tablespoon. Immediately add onion, ham, peas, and carrots and fry until tender. Place into a separate bowl and set aside.
Add remaining sesame oil into the pan, then add eggs. Use a spatula to scramble the eggs. Once cooked, place ham mixture back into the wok and combine.
Add the rice to the pan, gradually mixing it into the mixture. Pour the soy sauce over the top, and stir in.
Cook mixture until warmed through and thoroughly combined. Garnish with green onions and serve hot.

Notes

*This recipe is meant to make sure you can feed a crowd or have plenty of leftovers. (The best part of getting Chinese takeout is the leftovers!) To make a smaller portion, use these ingredients and cook as described above:

1 1/2 cups chopped ham, 3 cups cooked rice, 2 TBS sesame oil, 1/2 sweet onion, 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, 3 TBS soy sauce, 3 eggs, 2 TBS green onions

Pair this with your favorite Asian chicken recipe and you can get Chinese take out without leaving home!

What is your favorite takeout recipe? Let us know in the comments!

July 15, 2019

Orange Sauce

We have a few family go-to recipes and this is one of them. I first learned it while my wife and I were dating (surprised her with a home cooked meal for a date night once), and I’ve been slowly perfecting it over time.

Its a traditional style orange sauce with a delightful balance between sweet and bitter you expect from the actual fruit. None of that overly sweet stuff you get in cheap fast food joints here!

The best part? Its two ingredients and its easy to make! You can whip this up to pair with chicken, shrimp, drizzle over rice – you name something savory, you can pair this sauce with it!

Orange Sauce

Chinese, Dinner, Meals for a Crowd, Sauce, Vegetarian

Orange Sauce

Ingredients

1- 12 oz can frozen orange juice concentrate
2 TBS lemon juice concentrate

Instructions

Place can of orange juice in bowl and allow to partially thaw.
Put thawed orange juice and lemon juice into a saucepan. Combine over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Heat for 10-15 minutes for sauce to coat things in, 20-25 minutes for a dipping sauce.
Allow to cool before serving.

Made this sauce yourself? Let us know what you think in the comments!!

April 25, 2019April 29, 2019

Zesty Asian Sauce

Summer time means warm nights and fun times! One of our go to recipes for big parties is chicken. Every year we have a combined birthday party (all three of our birthdays are within a week) and this last year we had 20 lbs of fried chicken strips with a wide array of sauces. One of those was a copy cat recipe from our favorite wing joint! (The original sauce may or may not rhyme with PAsian Ping…)

Its great hot or cold, coated all over the chicken or used as a dipping sauce.

Need something to put it on? Try out our Fried Chicken Strips or make them air fried for a healthier twist.

Zesty Asian Sauce

Chinese, Dinner, Meat, Sauce

Zesty Asian Sauce

Ingredients

2 tsp corn starch
4 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup Sriracha
1 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

In a medium sauce pan, combine all ingredients except for sesame seeds.
Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook through until thoroughly combined and desired consistency.

To coat chicken in sauce:

Place chicken you want to coat in a large mixing bowl. Pour sauce into bowl.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap – make sure it is tight! Holding the bowl in both hands, toss chicken and sauce using a circular motion. If chicken and sauce are hot the plastic wrap may expand due to steam.

We also suggest adding sesame seeds to give it that final touch.

Not spicy enough for you? Try our Mango Habanero sauce for a sweet and spicy kick!

April 22, 2019April 22, 2019

Pork & Veggie Stir Fry

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The few times we get carry out, we have a favorite Chinese place we go to. Their family combos are to die for, and we always add on an extra order of their crispy cream cheese wontons.

Since we can’t get out as often as we would like, we’ve found its cheaper to make our favorite Asian inspired dishes ourselves. This pork stir fry gives you all the umami you’d expect from your favorite place with the ease of staying in home while you whip it up hot in your own wok!

We cook up our rice in our pressure cooker to make it fast and fluffy! No need to get a single function rice cooker!

We used a bag of frozen veggies from Costco to make ours. You can always substitute fresh produce in, but we find it is often cheaper to grab these veggies frozen – especially when they aren’t in season.

Pork & Veggie Stir Fry

Chinese, Comfort Foods, Dinner, Meat, Pork, Splurge

Pork & Veggie Stir Fry

Ingredients

3 TBS olive oil, divided
3 lbs pork, cut into bite sized pieces
2 1/2 lbs frozen stir fry vegetables**
1 TBS garlic powder
2 tsp powdered ginger

For the Sauce

3 TBS corn starch
6 TBS cold water
1 tsp chicken base
3/4 cup water
6 TBS soy sauce
3/4 cup honey
3 TBS toasted sesame oil
2 tsp or to taste crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

Make the Sauce:

In a medium bowl, whisk corn starch and cold water. Add remaining sauce ingredients, mixing as you go. Set aside

Start the Stir fry:

Add 1 1/2 TBS olive oil to deep skillet or wok and heat over medium high heat. Add pork, cook in batches if necessary, and add salt and pepper to taste as cooking. Cook for 5 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from pan.
Add remaining oil and reduce heat to medium. Add frozen vegetables to pan, stirring occasionally until heated through but not soggy.
Add garlic powder and powdered ginger and cook for a minute. Add pork back into pan, stirring to combine.
Mix sauce again in case of separation. Our over meat and vegetables, stirring gently to coat.
Increase heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Let boil for a minute.
Remove from heat. Serve hot over rice.

Notes

**The frozen bag of vegetables we use includes: broccoli, sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots, mushrooms, red bell peppers, water chestnuts and yellow onions. You can use 2 1/2 lbs of whatever fresh vegetables you like. When cooking, cook vegetables until cooked through but still a little crisp.