Sesame Ginger Chicken

Baking Latina Girl's Note:

This is a sweet and spicy chicken that you cant afford not to have. You can toss it with a bowl of noodles and stir-fried veggies, or serve it, chic style, on a bed of summer greens with a soy/sesame vinaigrette. The little black dress of the chicken breast set. (from The Girl Can't Cook by Cinda Chavich) Its summer and I'm finally out of school!!!! Hurray for me!! And with summer comes long days of doing nothing, but knowing me, the first day of vacations, I got myself into the kitchen since early in the morning and checked all the ingredients I had. And with the knowledge of which ingredients were available, the search for the perfect recipe began. I looked through various cookbooks and marked several recipes. The moment of decision came and I began to eliminate recipes. In the end this recipe was competing with a Tomato Lentil Soup. But fortunately, this recipe won. It was delicious!!!! When my mom came back from her class she found a clean house and a whole meal including dessert. I made some brown rice to go with the chicken, some garlic baby bok choi, and corn on the cob by my mom's request. The dessert was Strawberries with balsamic. I WOWed my mom. This chicken tastes like the chicken at my favourite restaurant: PF Chang's China Bistro. Please Try it, and I hope you like it.

• Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

Yield: 2.0 lbs. of ...

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• ½ cup liquid honey
• 1⁄3; cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger , Peeled and Minced
• 1 dried red chili pepper , crushed
• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro , chopped to garnish

Directions:

1. In a microwave-proof bowl, warm the sesame oil, honey, orange juice, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic, ginger and red chili until houney is melte. Stir to combine and set aside to cool.
2. In a resealable plastic bag, combine the chicken pieces and the marinade and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
4. Line a baking pan with foil or parchment paper to speed clean-up.
5. Place the chicken in a single layer on the pan, drizzle with the marinade and bake for 45 minutes, basting a couple of times with the pan juices.
6. Remove the chicken from the pan and tent with foil to keep warm. Pour the cooking juices into a small saucepan and boil over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the sauce is reduced to a thick glaze.
7. To serve, slice the chicken breasts and fan on individual plates, then drizzle some of the sauce over top.
8. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro to garnish.