Baked Honey Garlic Chicken

With my first pregnancy (our now 4 year-old son), I craved one thing, and one thing only: Chinese food. Not the classy, upscale, good stuff (not sure where that exists, but I'm sure it does somewhere). I wanted the trashy am-I-eating-cat-or-what-the-heck-is-this Chinese food from the random food court in a shady strip mall. Orange chicken. Fried Rice. All of it. I wanted it. I craved it all the time. 

It was horrible, and I knew it was. But nothing, NOTHING, could fix that craving except the "real" fake thing. It was annoying. I forced myself to stick to getting my crappy Chinese food fix only once a month after my monthly baby doctor appointment.

Luckily, this time around with baby #2 (due July 1st, but we'll have him sometime in the last half of June), I have been craving just the opposite. Grapefruit juice. Watermelon. Granola. The Super Green smoothie from Whole Foods, Sounds a little better than Chinese food, eh? 

I still love trying take-out style recipes at home, though. And because this one is all-baked (no babysitting a pool of oil for frying), it's much heathier for you. Serve these little baked honey garlic chickies next to some steamed fresh veggies and a bowl of brown rice? Now we're talking. 

This recipe makes an entire 9x13 pan full of chicken. Our little family of three (soon to be four. woah.), definitely had some leftovers to fight over. And MAN did we fight over them! The chicken had such a sweet tang to the sauce that soaked up all the crispy baked crust surrounding each little piece. It was heavenly! So if by chance you're craving the trashy Chinese food I did with my first, try this instead. haha. Definitely a much, much, healthier option. :) 

Baked Honey Garlic Chicken 

makes 4 servings

ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks

salt and pepper

2 large eggs, beaten

1 C flour 

1 C panko bread crumbs 

1/3 C honey

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 T soy sauce

1 t Sriracha sauce

1 T cornstarch

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2 t sesame seedsr

method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a glass 9x13 baking dish. Prep the chicken by seasoning it with salt and pepper. 

2. Prepare three bowls. One with the flour, one with the panko, and one with the eggs (whisked, with a small splash of water - like 1 teaspoon's worth). Working in batches, with one hand for dry ingredients and one hand for wet ingredients, dunk the chicken in the flour, then the eggs, then the panko. Press chicken into the panko to make sure it coats the entire surface. Place in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with all the chicken.

3. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until chicken is brown, crisp, and cooked through. 

4. Make the sauce by combining the honey, garlic, soy sauce, sriracha, over medium heat. Stir together and heat through. Combine cornstarch and 1/3 C water. Stir slurry into the saucepan until thickened, about 2 minutes, then gently pour over the cooked chicken. Gently toss to combine, serve hot over steamed rice, garnished with sesame seeds and green onion pieces. 

Recipe adapted from: Damn Delicious