Is the return of old favorites.  Although it does present a bit of a challenge to the blog sometimes.  I like to keep the recipes and the dialogue here at Tummy Treasure fresh and exciting, but after three-and-a-half years of blogging, there’s bound to be a repeat here and there along the way.  One of the other hazards about blogging and being an adventurous cook is that often times you make something and enjoy it and then it doesn’t ever get made again.  I wonder how many recipes I’ve actually made over the years that fit that category.  A few weeks ago I decided I was in the mood to make some Honey-Ginger Chicken Bites, so I put it on the menu.  I did that for three weeks before finally getting around to making it, but I did do just that last night.

This is an old favorite from Cooking Light, but I’ll tell you, I cooked it a whole new way this time, and I think this is the way to do it.  The first part is to make this ahead of time and freeze it.  The marinade takes seconds to combine in a freezer bag, and it takes no time at all to cut up chicken thighs either, so for about five minutes of prep work, you can have dinner waiting in the freezer for the time to make it.  You can then pull it out in the morning before work and let it thaw in the fridge all day, or in my case, I tempt fate and let it thaw for a few hours in the sink.  It’s all good.  The freezing and thawing process really gets that marinade into the chicken, and because I did that, the depth of flavor this time was fantastic.

Once the chicken was thawed, I snipped off the corner of the zipper bag and drained the marinade into a small saucepot.  I whisked in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and set the marinade on the stove to bubble and boil, stirring from time to time.  The marinade thickened into a  gorgeous sauce- I also decided at the last minute to strain the sauce as well, but that is completely un-necessary.  While the sauce thickened, I got out a non-stick frying pan, gave it the tiniest drizzle of olive oil, and then dumped my chicken in.  I sauteed it for about 20 minutes total, stirring from time to time.  What happened as I sauteed is that the honey in the marinade totally caramelized, so that I had these crispy nibbly bits on the edges of the chicken pieces.  It was definitely a lot like take-out that I’ve ordered before!  Once the chicken was nicely caramelized and cooked through, I poured the marinade over, gave it a stir, and it was ready to serve.  I’d made a pot of brown rice and a veggie blend of broccoli, baby corn and bell pepper.  Table-side I had sesame seeds available to sprinkle on the chicken- my kids love sesame seeds!

I thought pan-sauteeing the chicken was way easier than broiling it in the oven as the recipe originally indicated.  It also allowed the honey to caramelize better without the risk of getting burned.  Overall, it just was easier, I already had rice, veggies, and marinade going on the stove top- what was one more pan?  I probably could have used my wok as well, but the saute pan worked just fine.  The best part though, was seeing my kids reaction.  Zander came out to see what was for dinner and started jumping up and down “Chinese food!”  Who was that kid and where did he come from?  True to form though, when that plate went down, both kids started shoveling, pausing only to add a few more sesame seeds from time to time.  My shock went even further when they both asked for seconds.  That is simply unheard of around here!  They weren’t as excited about the veggies, but they loved that chicken!  I remembered that they enjoyed it, but this was a whole new level of loving their dinner.  It’s exciting! And Zander told me last night that we should have Chinese more often.  Hey, I can get on-board that train!

Honey-Ginger Chicken Bites