Thursday, October 30, 2008

15 Minute Sesame Chicken w/Lavender Rice

<----Click on the pic to enlarge...you'll love what you see!


She's probably one of my biggest fans. I really do love her. She discovered my food blog and has tried my recipes and she's loved them. She e-mailed me and wanted to know if I'd come up with a recipe for Sesame Chicken that used little to no salt. Well, how could I decline her? She deserved it! So, staying true to my theory for Everyday Cookin', here's Sesame Chicken over a Lavender Scented Rice.

It's easy - it's quick - and it's tasty!

-DTW


Sesame Chicken over Lavender Scented Rice

For Sauce
¼ cup of water
1 cup of low sodium chicken broth
½ tablespoon of vinegar
¼ cup of cornstarch
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 small chili, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup of flour
Vegetable oil, for frying
Wooden skewers
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds

The Method
For the sauce, combine everything into a sauce pan. Whisk good until combined and bring to a boil on a medium heat. Once thickened, remove from heat.

Preheat oil to 375 degrees. Cut the chicken breast into strips. Season with salt and pepper. Place onto skewers. Dredge in flour being sure to shake of the excess and deep fry until golden brown. When done, dip in sauce and place over rice or noodles.

**For the rice, prepare rice based on the package instructions. Per cup of uncooked rice add 1 teaspoon of dried lavender to the cooking liquid as the rice cooks.



It was gone soooo quick!






















The plating of the sauce. See the color and thickness - this is what you're looking for.





















It's important to know where it all started, right? I mean how can you know where you're going if you don't know where you've been?

37 comments:

PG said...

Sounds like a match made in food-heaven. Your dish does look fantastic. Does the lavender really affect the taste/smell?

Darius T. Williams said...

@ psychgrad


The lavender totally affects the taste and smell. Have you had jasmine rice before? If so...this is a great substitute!

Anonymous said...

Nice after pic! This is making me hungry.

NKP said...

I see the big guy is a sucker for a lady - so sweet!
Dinner looks great! I have lavender that I harvested from my garden, I haven't thought of using it in rice. Sounds great.

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

I love the twist with the lavender rice. Great stuff!

Anonymous said...

That sounds and looks wonderful!!! And I love lavender in food though it's so tricky to use the right amount so that it doesn't taste like soap!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

An interesting combination of flavors! What a flavorful dish! Wonderful!

Cheers,

Rosa

LadyLee said...

*LadyLee does the hard back flip followed by the high Rockette kick*

Hooray!!! That looks good, and so easy! We're gonna try that one this weekend:)

Thanks, Oh Master Chef Darius!

Dave Van Buren said...

This looks good. I never thought of flavoring rice with lavender but I might have to give it a try.

RunningMom said...

Lavender is my favorite scent for sleeping. I have a lavender plant growing in my kitchen, I had heard that you could cook with it, but just never tried it - this looks lovely!

You could also use lower-sodium soy sauce too if salt was a big problem. I use it on my sushi... it's not bad.

Jan said...

Aww that is so sweet!
I AM LOVING that chicken!!! Great pictures too.

Sandy said...

as always... yummy

Mrs Count said...

I love your blog! I will be making this one on Monday :)

Laura said...

Another great looking chicken dish - that's two for two! Your on my regular food blog stops now - thanks so much for the great recipes!

Lori Lynn said...

I learned something new. I use lavender, but never put it in rice, 1 t. to 1 c. Good to know, thanks Chef Darius!

BTW - I REALLY like your new look!

Lori Lynn

Allie said...

Very nice use of lavender here! It's one of my favourite herbes, and sadly gets so little attention!

Lisa magicsprinkles said...

Oh man, that looks like it totally Rocks! Great photos too!

The CDM said...

Now THIS I can wrap myself around. I plan on doing this first chance I get.

Anonymous said...

OK OK....NOW I READ THE TITLE TO THIS DISH....


WHERE IS THE LAVENDER RICE, LOL

nice

Anonymous said...

just want to give your page some love and how you are a wonderful cook...just some food shout outs from a swell culinary arts guy!!


oh and some pics

vanillasugarblog said...

Love this pairing flavor combination. I bet it was gone in a matter of minutes. I bet you used jasmine rice? I'm sure that went awesome with the lavender.
I would be all over that sauce; I am such a sauce hoarder. Everytime we go out to eat I always ask for extra sauce.

Kofi Bofah said...

Whoa.

I will keep checking in with your site.

My New Year's resolution was to learn how to cook. It is already November; and my skills are still limited to: fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, hot-dogs, eggs, and toast.

Maybe you could post some suggestions for the novice. This is bachelor living defined, over here.

Alicia Foodycat said...

You know my feelings about lavender! So I'll have mine on plain rice - that chicken sounds superb on its own!

Freedom In Christ said...

DTW I sure hope you are going to school to a chef and own your own restuarant because you are doing your thing for REAL! I mean this is your gift that WILL bring you ALL the riches that your heart desires. I am so impressed. You are really doing your thing NATURALLY because this is something that you are passionate about. Keep up the Great serve of showing us how to eat healthy and make food our friend not our enemy!

Anonymous said...

I never had lavender rice but it surely sounds good! You're hired as my personal chef!! (after i win the lottery that is! haha)

Proud Italian Cook said...

Lavender rice, now you got me curious!

Nikki @ NikSnacks said...

Like I told you before: you've really outdone yourself here, lil bro. This is the best that I've seen from you. If you want anymore lavender ideas or to feel inspired by it, check this out: http://niksnacks.blogspot.com/2008/08/weekend-herb-blogging.html

Anonymous said...

You are amazing at what you do! I've been to your site a few times, just never posted. I have a question about this sesame chicken (my fav!) would it make a huge difference if I prepare the chicken without the skewers?

Lavender huh? I'm used to having the lavender and chamomile to get the kids calm for bedtime! But I'm open to new things and I will surely let you know if it turned out right!!!!

Xem VanAdams said...

What IF I DONT Know whether or NOT Ive had Lavender? LOL*
My Mother is the BEST COOK that has ever walked the face of this earth, so Im SURE it has been Snuck into Many of Meals.

Cynthia said...

Darius, honestly, I love the way you cook and the things you make. I wish I could cook like that more often.

Unknown said...

dang, fan-freakin-tastic!! and so quick i love it!

test it comm said...

Sesame chicken is one of my favorites. The lavender scented rice sounds interesting. I will have to look for some lavender.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

OMG! Just the name of this recipe makes me drool! Yum!

RecipeGirl said...

This looks amazing. I just acquired a jar of dried lavender and haven't had any idea what to do with it. This might be the ticket. Bookmarked for sure!

Jennifer said...

Man this looks good! I have never thought of adding Lavender, great idea!

PG said...

Yes - I've had jasmine rice before. I'm surprised the lavender has such an effect - I have a few lavender products (lavender salt and pepper) and I can never really really detect the lavender taste. Granted, 1 tsp/cup of rice seems like a more potetent combo.

Chef E said...

Another great looking dish Darius...