by Cindy Tanzar
This is one of my family’s favorite dishes. The flavors are amazing together. The original version of this recipe was named Olympics Chicken, as it was a contest winner for the Seoul Olympics. The original recipe used honey to sweeten the dish, but here a low-glycemic sweetener is used to lower the carbs. I have also doubled the sauce, because we can never get enough of it, plus it provides more to spoon over our cauliflower rice.
Ingredients
2 Tbs. cold-pressed, unrefined Sesame Seed Oil
8-10 organic chicken thighs, skinless
10 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tsp. crushed red pepper (this is only moderately spicy-add more if you like it spicier or 1/2 tsp. for mild)
1/2 cup white vinegar
6 Tbs. organic Tamari sauce (gluten-free soy sauce)
4-5 Tbs. low-glycemic sweetener **(recipe below)
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
Directions
In a large stainless steel or cast iron skillet, heat the oil until moderately hot. Add the chicken thighs, browning on both sides – roughly 10 minutes. May need to brown in two batches. Add garlic and red pepper to pan, sautéing for 2-3 minutes. (Note: the garlic mellows greatly and will not overpower the dish.) In a 2-cup measuring cup, add the vinegar, Tamari, sweetener and ginger, stirring well. Pour over chicken. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer, cooking for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is tender. Turn chicken half-way through cooking to coat in sauce.
If sauce is too thin, remove cover and simmer until desired thickness.
NOTE: Serve with cauliflower rice and/or sautéed broccoli, cabbage, asparagus and Bok Choy. Don’t be afraid of 10 cloves of garlic; it will mellow and not overpower the dish.
** To make sweetener: combine 1 cup erythritol to 1 tsp. powdered stevia (make sure there are no added ingredients, only pure stevia) – ingredients available at health food stores. Store the extra for future use.