Soy-Glazed Chicken Breasts with Pickled Cucumbers

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Soy-Glazed Chicken Breasts with Pickled Cucumbers

The pan-steam method used here ensures boneless, skinless chicken breasts cook quickly while staying moist. The technique works with water, but a flavorful mixture of soy sauce, honey, garlic and coriander infuses the chicken with even more flavor. Depending on the size of the skillet you use, the sauce may reduce a little slower or faster than the time indicated. When you swipe a rubber spatula across the bottom of the skillet, the sauce should hold a spatula-wide trail that fills in with liquid pretty quickly. If you happen to reduce too much, whisk in water one tablespoon at a time until you’re back to a shiny sauce that can be drizzled. Rice is an obvious side, but the sliced chicken and pickled cucumbers are really good tucked inside flour tortillas, too.

Rating

Ingredients

  • 1English cucumber, thinly sliced
  • 1shallot, peeled, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 1/4cup rice vinegar
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1/4cup low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 2tablespoons honey or maple syrup
  • 4boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
  • 2tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1teaspoon coriander seeds, roughly smashed with the side of a heavy knife
  • Cilantro leaves and tender stems, for serving
  • Steamed rice, for serving
Set base servings to enable scaling:

Directions

In a medium bowl, toss to combine the cucumber, shallot, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside while you make the chicken.

In a shallow dish, stir soy sauce and honey together; add chicken and turn to coat.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add garlic and coriander and stir to coat. Add chicken breasts (reserve the marinade) and cook until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. (Browning happens a little faster than usual here because of the honey and soy; if the marinade is getting too dark, lower the heat slightly.)

Add reserved marinade and 1/4 cup water to the skillet. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes more per side.

Uncover the skillet, increase heat to medium-high and cook, turning chicken occasionally, until liquid is reduced and chicken is glazed, about 5 minutes. Serve chicken drizzled with any leftover glaze over rice with cucumber salad and cilantro.

Nutrition

Info
Trans Fat: 0 gramsFat: 13 gramsCalories: 432Saturated Fat: 2 gramsUnsaturated Fat: 9 gramsSodium: 910 milligramsSugar: 9 gramsFiber: 2 gramsCarbohydrate: 28 gramsProtein: 49 grams
Chicken & Poultry

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020894-soy-glazed-chicken-breasts-with-pickled-cucumbers