Grilled Boneless Chicken Breasts with Spicy Hoisin Sauce

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Brine Time: 60 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: America's Test Kitchen (Season 14)
Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (Sept 2013)

You can get the recipe at the TV show website (if you register and read this within a year or two), but the Hoisin Sauce recipes is not there unless you are a paying subscriber.

So here are the ingredients:

2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 – 2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder

Basically you just whisk them together (it helps to do the cornstarch into the vinegar first) and then boil it for a minute or two to thicken. 

This recipe is very simple and it was delicious. The chicken turned out perfect. I used 1T of the Sriracha sauce and my picky eater complained it was too spicy. He said he might have liked it with less spice. I will try again with 1/2 T because it was so good. 

And of course a very simple meal if you plan for the brining time before hand.  

Also, I didn't have five-spice powder or all the parts to make a substitute. I used a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of cloves. 

Hoisin Chicken Salad

Total Time: 35 minutes

Grade: C+

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Best 30-Minute Recipes

I know I took a picture of this, but I can't find it. So much for my new photo organization.

This salad was fine, and simple, but not quite worth the effort. I think there are other chicken salads I would go for first before this one. I did adjust the dressing to use less oil and that probably made it less tasty. It was a little too vinegar-y.

Sesame Chicken Bites

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Marinade: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: B-

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (October 2005)

This was fine, but I didn't love the sauce flavor - it was a little one-dimensional I guess. However, I do like the idea of cooking chicken bites this way, and may try it with some other sauces. Instead of stir-frying you bake the bite sized pieces of chicken and it worked well. (I skipped the skewers)

Pan Roasted Broccoli

Prep Time: 18 minutes
Cook Time: 6-8 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe: Cook's Illustrated January 2006

There are lots of good variations of this recipe from Cook's Illustrated on the subscriber website shown above. The one I have tried several times and liked was with the Spicy Southeast Asian Flavors. It is very delicious and goes well as a side dish for any type of Asian food.