Orange, Ginger & Sesame Chicken with Garlic Broccoli
The vibrant combination of zesty, fruity sweet orange and warm ginger is lovely in this dish and the brown sugar caramelises into a deliciously sticky sauce. Switch to skinless and boneless chicken for a quicker meal if you prefer.
Method
Pat the chicken thighs dry and season with salt. Heat the oil in a large heavy based non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the chicken, skin-side down for 18-20 minutes, without moving, until golden and the skin has crisped up. Turn the chicken and cook for a further 10-15 minutes, depending on size, until almost cooked through. Remove from the pan
Drain excess fat from the pan, leaving approx. 1 tbsp. Over a medium heat add the ginger, garlic, chilli and pepper. Cook for 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, sugar and 1 tablespoon of orange juice. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar has melted and caramelized. Add the orange slices and turn in the sauce.
Add the remaining orange juice, zest, lime and stock. Bring to the boil and bubble away for a minute. Return the chicken to the pan skin-side up. Reduce the heat and cook, gently bubbling away for a further 10-14 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is sticky.
Meanwhile, heat a lidded frying pan over a high heat and add a glug of oil. Add the broccoli and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic, a good splash of soy sauce and 3 tbsp water. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes. Season with the sesame oil and scatter with half the sesame seeds.
Serve the chicken on a bed of rice, drizzled with sauce, garnished with spring onion and sesame seeds with the broccoli on the side and orange wedges for squeezing.
Ingredients
- For the Orange, Ginger & Sesame Chicken
- 1 tbsp neutral oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 4-6 medium chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on, excess skin/fat trimmed
- large thumb size piece of root ginger, peeled, cut into matchsticks
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1-2 red chillies, deseeded, finely chopped
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp dark soy sauce, plus extra for the broccoli
- 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce or sriracha
- 4 heaped tbsp soft light brown sugar
- 1 ½ large oranges, juice & zest of 1, ½ cut into quarter moon slices, plus wedges to serve
- ½ lime, juice only
- 150ml hot chicken stock
- For the Garlic Broccoli
- 1 head of broccoli, broken into small florets
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled, minced
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- 2 spring onions, trimmed, thinly sliced
- white rice, to serve