Sweet and Spicy Sticky Chicken

Most of the recipes that I make have some kind of story behind them. It might not be super exciting, but it’s still a story. And the story behind this particular recipe is Maple Syrup.

Last Friday my colleague sent me a link to this sticky chicken. It looked delicious and I wanted to make it right away. After carefully reading the recipe, I realized that the stickiness is because of honey. I don’t eat honey, so I always use maple syrup instead, but the problem was that my husband doesn’t like anything sweet in his savoury dishes. Weird! Side note: i noticed that half of my recipes include a story about my husband not liking something and me still making it. And then it turned out that A. had dinner plans with his friends that night, so I was home alone and I was able to try this delicious recipe and enjoy it on my own.

As I said earlier, it’s not a very exciting story 🙂 However, it is a pretty exciting dish. I made some changes, added some sesame oil to compliment sesame seeds and also included ginger. Chicken turned soft and sticky and spicy and sweet and oh, so satisfying!

Sweet and Spicy Sticky Chicken

Makes 2 small servings or 1 large serving
Adapted from Pickled Plum recipe

Skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into medium sized chunks – 1 pound
Cayenne pepper – 1/2 teaspoon
Red pepper chili flakes – 1/2 teaspoon
Oil – 1 tablespoon
Soy sauce – 2 tablespoons
Rice vinegar – 1 tablespoon
Maple syrup – 1 1/2 tablespoons
Minced ginger – 1/2 teaspoon
Sesame oil – 1/2 teaspoon
Garlic powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Sesame seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
Parsley or green onions for garnish

• Coat chicken in cayenne pepper and chili flakes.
• Place chicken between two pieces of parchment paper and pound well using a kitchen mallet or rolling pin. This will infuse chicken with the spicy flavour without marinading it for hours.
• Heat oil in a large pan and add chicken to it.
• Cook chicken about 5 minutes on each side.
• While chicken is cooking, in a small bowl mix the rest of the ingredients except for sesame seeds and garnish.
• After chicken has been in a pan for 10 minutes and is almost cooked through add the sauce.
• Let the chicken cook in the sauce until the sauce thickens and becomes sticky.
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds, add garnish and server over rice.

Comments
– Original recipe says to only cook chicken 2 minutes on each side, but I cooked it for about 15 minutes all together. Even though pieces are small, I felt that 2 minutes on each side and another 2 minutes with the sauce was not enough. So, make sure to check that the chicken is cooked through.
– You can decrease cayenne pepper and chill flakes if you don’t like spicy. It will still be delicious!