Get ready for your mouth to open ?sesame?

Grocery stores are such interesting places if you look up from your shopping list and study shelves where you don?t normally search for ingredients.

There are a lot of fascinating foods out there that, to be honest, I have no idea how to do anything with.

Not long ago I bought some sesame oil. I?d never used it before, but it didn?t sound too scary.

I discovered that it is amazing. It has an incredibly strong, nutty flavor and aroma, and I really like it. A little of it goes a long way. One of my favorite things to do with it is to make a package of ramen, leave out the spice packet and pour a little sesame oil over the drained noodles.

I got to use it again this week when I decided to try a low-cal version of sesame chicken, which is one of my favorite dishes to get at Chinese food restaurants.

This version is definitely lighter and doesn?t have the same breading and sticky sauce as the kind you might find on a buffet, but the flavors are great.

I found this on a blog called ?Slender Kitchen.? You can find it at http://www.slenderkitchen.com/sesame-chicken/. I changed some of the ingredients around a little.

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Sesame Chicken

Ingredients

2 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3 minced garlic cloves

1 tablespoon soy sauce (low sodium)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1/2 cup chicken stock or broth (low sodium)

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in an oven-safe, large pan.

Add the chicken and saute until it?s browned on all sides.

Meanwhile, whisk together the sesame oil, garlic cloves, soy sauce, brown sugar, white vinegar and chicken stock.

Once the chicken is browned, pour the sauce over top of it, toss to coat and put in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the chicken with the sesame seeds.

Toss it again, and serve.

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Joey and I really enjoyed this recipe. I paired it with some fried rice, and it was a great, filling meal, and I was happy to have another use for my sesame oil.

I?m not sure I?ll always have such great luck with new ingredients, but it?s a lot more fun to go shopping if you make it a bit of an adventure every once in awhile

When not helping husband Joey with newspaper work, Lindsey teaches speech, debate and forensics at Haven High School. She can be reached at lindseyclarion@gmail.com.

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