Hot and Sweet Honey Chicken... the work of lazy moments!

Chicken is an omnipresent feature in my cuisine, in whatever form it presents itself everyday on the dining table. It is a life-saver when vegetables do not offer a meal on their own. A few trays of chicken breast are always kept in my freezer for those occasions where I have to spruce up dinner, in half an hour, flat. It works! With chicken. Throw in whatever you find into the pan along with the chicken and lo! And I must say, I'm a lover of those chicken breast pieces you find around the markets. They are such a convenience, gets cooked in minutes and can be popped in to your mouth without much thoughts about bones and knives. Life cannot get easier than this, can it?


So, this recipe is my own creation of what I have eaten, when I have gone to the local places in Singapore. A replica of what... I cannot say. Because most of the times, I just look at what the stalls have displayed and point to the ones I feel like eating, that look appetising. No words spoken. I do not fear eating anything in the world, so my dumb charades work. It can turn out to be anything: varying from mock meat to just about anything that you could think about! But at home, I safely work around with chicken. (Oh, what would I have done if chicken was not a popularly-eaten meat in the world?)


INGREDIENTS:
Chicken, boneless breast pieces - 500 grams
Crushed Red Chillies - 1 tablespoon
Red Chilli Powder - 1 teaspoon
Ginger Garlic Crushed - 2 teaspoons
Lemon Juice - 2 tablespoons
Soya Sauce - 1 tablespoon
Honey - 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons
Salt as desired.
Oil - 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
Cashew nuts - 20

METHOD:
Take the boneless chicken breasts and cut them into small pieces. Put them into a bowl (pic 1).
Add the rest of the ingredients, one by one, except the oil into the chicken and mix well (pics 2 to 6).

Note: As I wanted the flavour of the chicken 'hot and sweet' I have added crushed red chillies and red chilli powder with much enthusiasm. It all depends on your taste. Do taste your marinade and see how you want the heat and the sweet. If you prefer it moderately hot, reduce crushed red chilli by 1 tablespoon and red chilli powder by 1/2 teaspoon. You can also increase/decrease the amount of honey as per your sweet tooth.

Keep the chicken marinated in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
Take a pan and heat up 2 tablespoons of oil. Tip in the marinated chicken into it and stir well (pic 7).
Reduce the flame to low.
Do not add any water, the chicken will leave enough water for the cooking.
Cover the pan and let the chicken cook till done, it will take around 8 to 10 minutes (pic 8).
Once the chicken is cooked, increase the flame to medium, and let whatever liquid left, evaporate.
Once the chicken is totally dry, increase the flame to the maximum, and add the 1 teaspoon of oil into it.
Stir fry for 4 to 5 minutes.
Meanwhile heat a flat pan with very little oil and add the cashew nuts into it and fry till they are golden brown.
Transfer the cashew nuts into the chicken. Mix well.

Serve along with steamed white rice. It has a very Asian feel to it. It would also go well with noodles and mixed fried rice. The choice is yours. Break the rules. Set free your imagination. And come up with hundreds of variants! On how and when to eat this chicken. Sometimes you may feel it good as a starter too:-)


This is the best you can do during lazy moments. A work less than 20 minutes. No slicing, no cutting! What more can I offer you? Steamed rice does not take much effort, does it?


Lots of love and happiness:-)














Comments

Indian Khana said…
Looks yum ...so tempting ...nice pics
AutismUnited said…
Very nice looking chicken. You could serve with rice or pasta or even all by itself.

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