Summery Sesame Slaw with Chicken
Serves 4 as a main dish, up to 8 as a side dish
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
For Dressing:
1-1½ tablespoons (2 inches) fresh ginger, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon lime
1 tablespoon honey
⅓ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 teaspoons sriracha (adjust to your heat preferences)
½ teaspoon salt
For Chicken:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound chicken thighs, thinly sliced
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons honey
For Slaw:
4 cups mixed veggies, thinly sliced (carrots, cucumber, celery, bell peppers, sugar snap peas, and snow peas all work great!)
2 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 cup cashews or peanuts, coarsely chopped
Sesame seeds, for garnish
For Dressing:
In a medium bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk together until smooth. Taste and adjust ingredients to your preference.
For Chicken:
Heat a pan over medium-high heat. As the pan is heating up, add all but 1 teaspoon of butter. Once the butter is melted, add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook until golden, about 4-5 minutes, per side.
Turn the heat down to medium and add the remaining butter. Once the butter is melted, add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Pour in the apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, and honey. Stir, allowing everything to combine and the honey to melt.
Bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Continue letting it slowly simmer until the sauce starts to thicken and reduce, about 4-5 minutes.
You can decide how thick you want the sauce, but because the slaw already has its own dressing, I like to have most of the sauce thickened and reduced rather than leaving it saucy
Once the sauce has reached your preferred thickness, remove the pan from the heat, remove the chicken from the pan, and place it on a cutting board. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Add those chicken pieces back to the pan with the sauce and stir it together so to help coat as much of the chicken as possible. Leave the chicken in the pan while you prepare the slaw.
For Slaw:
In a large mixing bowl, add all of the slaw ingredients and toss with the dressing. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Fold in the grilled chicken.
Garnish with sesame seeds and additional nuts, cilantro, and green onions.
Eat right away or refrigerator and save for later.
You can also make this ahead by prepping the dressing and slaw, separately, and combining them when you’re ready to eat.
Enjoy!