I made this recently, and it is so good. Everyone loved it. The recipe can be found here at theseasonedmom.com. It is worth reading through her notes and seeing the links to other recipes of hers. This is a real simple recipe, one I'm sure you will enjoy. You can either use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Here, I used the breast. See my notes below for other changes I made.
1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1 tablespoon (I probably used 2 tablespoons) of cornstarch
1/2 onion or more, according to your tastes
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup rice vinegar (may also use apple cider vinegar)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced or pressed fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, ot 1 teaspoon grated fresh gingerroot
Cooked white rice
Optional garnishes, sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, chopped peanuts or cashews
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13", or a 2-quart baking dish.
2. Place chicken in prepared dish, sprinkle with the cornstarch, and toss to coat.
3. Stir in the onions and bell peppers.
4. In another large bowl, stir together the ketchup, rice vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic and ginger. Mix well and pour over chicken and vegetables.
5. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and stir well, then bake another 5-10 minutes, until the chicken has cooked through, the vegetables are tender-crisp, and the sauce has thickened, If the sauce becomes too thick during baking, add a splash of water to think it out.
6. Serve over hot, cooked white rice and garnish as desired.
Notes
1. I used chicken breasts. Though the recipe calls for putting the chicken into the baking dish raw, I browned them first because I did not want the chunks to clump together from the cornstarch. If you choose to brown the chicken first, be sure to not overcook them since they will be baked afterward. You want the chicken cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
2. I cut the onion and bell peppers into decent-sized chunks, because I did not want them to get lost in the baking process.
3. The original recipe calls for apple cider vinegar, but I used rice vinegar since it seems to me it is a little more mild than the apple cider vinegar.
4. Though I used light brown sugar since that is what I had on hand, you could try using dark brown sugar to give it a more complex flavor, one of molasses.
5. I rarely add garlic to what I cook, since I don't like it.
6. I used powdered ginger since that is what I had on hand, but if you can, use fresh gingerroot, and it surely will taste better.
7. I did add a little pineapple juice, maybe 2-3 tablespoon's worth, because it seems that is how I've always seen it done. I also added some pineapple chucnks,r preference.
8. If I remember right, I made 1 1/2 times the sauce recipe because I wanted enough that I could spoon over the rice. Also, if I remember right, because there was so much of it, I thickened the sauce with a small amount of cornstarch/water mixture which I added during the final 5-10 minutes of baking to allow it to fully thicken.
9. I didn't try this, but it really sounds good. The original recipe suggests adding a splash of orange juice and some freshly grated orange zest to the sauce. If you do that, you probably would not want to add the pineapple juice and chunks, as well.
10. Original recipe also suggests adding a little toasted sesame oil to the sauce. A little goes a long way.
