Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
This sesame chicken recipe is a restaurant-quality dish that's easy to make in a crockpot. With affordable ingredients and minimal effort, you can enjoy a flavorful and satisfying meal for any occasion.
This sesame chicken recipe is a restaurant-quality dish that's easy to make in a crockpot. With affordable ingredients and minimal effort, you can enjoy a flavorful and satisfying meal for any occasion.
- 1/3 cup water
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs or 4 chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 packets minute rice optional
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds (or more)
- 3 scallions, chopped (if desired)
- Carbohydrate 51.5504215495043 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 7.33182936928408 g
- Fiber 8.52039278606611 g
- Protein 13.853533567569 g
- Saturated Fat 0.6826441470754 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (597g)
- Sodium 220.575536793772 mg
- Sugar 43.0300287634382 g
- Trans Fat 0.608558839635411 g
- Calories 286 calories
Step-by-step
- Place chicken in Crockpot and season both sides with salt and pepper as desired.
- In a medium bowl, combine onion, garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oil and red pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or high for 2 hours.
- Remove chicken ONLY to a cutting board (leave sauce in pot). Shred chicken into 1" to 2" pieces; set aside. Prepare rice according to package instructions.
- In a small bowl, dissolve 4 teaspoons cornstarch in 1/3 cup water; then add to crockpot. Stir to combine with sauce. Cover and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes, or until slightly thickened.
- Add cooked rice to plates, top with chicken and spoon sauce over top. Sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds and chopped scallions as desired.
Leaving poultry in a thermal cooker past the four-hour mark on low heat converts succulent cuts into dry, stringy fibers. Protein structure breaks down under prolonged exposure to liquid acids, so strict adherence to the two-hour high or four-hour low window preserves moisture before shredding. Financial efficiency in poultry purchasing often leads cooks toward bulk packs of skinless thighs. Thighs contain higher intermuscular fat levels than breasts, yielding a more tender result after hours of simmering in a soy and honey reduction.
Preparing this dish ahead for future meals requires precise packaging management. Cook the poultry completely, shred the meat into pieces measuring one to two inches, and submerge those shreds in a portion of the cooking liquid before freezing. Storing the meat dry inside the freezer results in tough proteins upon reheating, because moisture draws away from the muscle fibers during the thawing process. Seal the components in heavy-duty freezer bags for up to three months. Thaw overnight in a refrigerator maintained at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower before warming gently on a stovetop over medium-low heat.
Starch thickening requires heat and agitation to swell properly. Dissolving four teaspoons of cornstarch in one-third cup of cold water prevents lump formation through premature gelatinization when introduced to hot liquids. Pouring dry starch directly into boiling sauce creates insoluble clumps because the outer starch granules cook instantly and block liquid penetration. Boiling the mixture for ten minutes activates the thickening agents fully, yielding a glossy coating that clings properly to the shredded meat without sliding off onto the plate.
