Lately I’ve been on a chicken kick, experimenting with some different cooking methods, flavors and combinations.
The other day I marinated a few boneless skinless chicken thighs with a little of this and that from the pantry, then grilled them outside creating an awesome char. The chicken was full of flavor and tender. While we ate, Brian, my guy, brought up “mall” chicken.
You know, mall chicken. Everybody’s tried it. It’s typically either in an Asian or “Cajun” style restaurant in almost every mall food court from here to Antartica.
Are there malls in Anartica? Well, no, but if there were, they’d serve up “mall” chicken.
And what’s great about “mall” chicken is that they usually give away samples of these flavorful meat morsels. You’ll walk by and an employee will have a tray full of “mall” chicken proudly propped and poked with a toothpick, ready for you to devour, become addicted to (it’s the MSG) and beg for more.
Damn you “mall” chicken.
Since our conversation, my guy has been craving it. And so, being the wannabe foodie that I think I am, I went on a quest to A) find a healthier/clean version of “mall” chicken that’s not crammed with preservatives and MSG. Here’s what I came up with.
Bourbon “mall” chicken serves 2-3
Forget the food court and whip up this scrumptious (and healthy!) version of “mall” chicken! This dish cooks in under 30 minutes and makes for a scrumptious, tender chicken coated in a flavorful coating of ginger, garlic and date syrup. I replaced traditional soy sauce with coconut aminos, and gave the dish a bit of sweetness with the raw honey.
Ingredients
1lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 tbsp. coconut aminos (a healthy soy sauce replacement!)
3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 cup raw honey (sometimes called unfiltered honey)
2 tbsp. olive oil or coconut oil
sea salt to taste
2 scallions, chopped
Directions
1. Combine everything except for the chicken, oil and salt in a bowl and whisk until combined well. Taste the sauce and add salt as needed (liquid aminos are salty, but not as salty as traditional soy sauce, so you may need to add a pinch of sea salt to balance out the sweetness and tartness from the vinegar). Set aside.
2. Preheat the oil in a wok or large frying pan, on medium high heat. Place the chicken into the pan and quickly brown on both sides.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the sauce into the pan. Stir to coat the chicken and continue to cook, uncovered, until the sauce has reduced into a “glaze”.
4. Let is sit for a few minutes to cool then serve over cauliflower rice, eat on it’s own, or stick a few toothpicks in each chunk, lay them all on a tray, and go to town. Don’t worry… it’ll be our little secret.
