Teriyaki Chicken and Cauliflower Skillet
Try this Teriyaki Chicken and Cauliflower Skillet recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Teriyaki Chicken and Cauliflower Skillet recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 lbs boneless & skinless chicken breasts cut into 1†cubes
- 6 tbsp soy sauce divided (i used bragg’s)
- 4 tbsp raw honey divided
- 2 small garlic cloves crushed
- 1.5 - 2 lbs cauliflower chopped into small florets
- 2 tbsp coconut or avocado oil divided
- 1 tbsp cornstarch organic
- 3 green onion sprigs finely chopped
- brown rice or quinoa for serving
- Carbohydrate 83.4319000018486 g
- Cholesterol 526.1671492 mg
- Fat 29.1622907760009 g
- Fiber 4.57800006450766 g
- Protein 216.495756466004 g
- Saturated Fat 5.50392964200015 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (1171g)
- Sodium 603.860081005683 mg
- Sugar 78.853899937341 g
- Trans Fat 3.787929642 g
- Calories 1487 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook brown rice or quinoa as per package instructions.
- In a medium bowl, add 3 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp honey, rice vinegar and garlic; whisk to combine. Add chicken and mix well to coat. Let marinate while chopping cauliflower and up until cooking it.
- Preheat large non-stick wok or deep skillet on medium heat and swirl 1 tbsp of oil to coat. Add cauliflower, cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should be cooked al dente and not mushy. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Return wok to the stove and swirl remaining 1 tbsp of oil. Using a large spoon, scoop chicken from marinade pressing the spoon to the side of a bowl and draining marinade into the bowl (we will be using it shortly, do not discard) and adding chicken to a skillet. Reserve marinade, cover chicken and let it cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- To the bowl with marinade, add remaining 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp honey, water and cornstarch; whisk well. Add to the wok with chicken and stir. Cover, reduce heat to low and let cook for about 10 minutes or until sauce has thickened.
- Remove from heat, add previously cooked cauliflower and stir. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve hot with brown rice or quinoa.
Replacing raw honey with maple syrup alters the viscosity of the glaze, requiring a slight reduction in liquid to achieve proper cling on the poultry. Smart budgeting in the kitchen relies on dishes that stretch expensive proteins across multiple meals, and boneless chicken breasts cut into uniform one-inch cubes cook evenly while maximizing perceived volume alongside dense vegetables. Efficient prep means marinating the meat in a bowl while simultaneously breaking down the cauliflower head into small florets, utilizing downtime so no minutes are wasted at the cutting board. When cooking the brassica, covering the pan traps steam to jump-start tenderization, but keeping the duration strictly to five minutes prevents the florets from turning into a sulfurous mush and ensures they retain structural integrity when folded back into the sauce later.
Mastering the Starch Slurry
Cornstarch requires direct heat activation to swell its starch molecules and gelatinize the surrounding liquid, transforming thin soy sauce and water into a glossy coat that clings stubbornly to the back of a spoon. Whisking the cornstarch thoroughly into cold water before introducing it to the hot wok prevents unappealing lumps from forming in the pan. Reducing the heat to low once the secondary liquid mixture joins the chicken allows the sauce to thicken gently over ten minutes without scorching the natural sugars present in the honey. Controlling the viscosity prevents the dish from becoming watery, which is the single technique that determines whether the final result looks cohesive or breaks down into a soggy mess.Maximizing Second-Day Transformations
Leftover stir-fries benefit from storage in airtight glass containers within the refrigerator for up to three days, where flavors continue to meld into the porous fibers of the meat and brassica. Reheating this specific combination requires a wide skillet over medium heat with a splash of water rather than a microwave, which prevents the chicken from toughening and keeps the cauliflower from releasing excess moisture. Serving the reheated mixture over freshly cooked grains brings back the textural contrast between tender poultry and crisp seeds that made the original preparation successful.
