Thursday, May 13, 2010

Szechwan Chicken with Green Beans

I made this again this week and was not as impressed with it as the first time.  It was good and all, but maybe my almost burning it the first time was a good thing!  I also overcooked my green beans BIG time, so they didn't taste nice and crispy and fresh! (We were outside playing in the 80 degree weather!  I'll take it!)  That being said, it was still a very yummy and healthy meal for my family.  We all ate it and had plenty of leftovers for a few days!

This was truly an experiment!  I took a regular recipe and tried to turn it into a Slow Cooker recipe instead!  Spicy Chicken with String Beans is one of my most favorite dishes to order at a Chinese Restaurant, so when I came across this recipe, I knew I had to try it!

The aroma I came home to today, was one of "burned" food!  LOL  There were some onions that became "blackened" and were creating that lovely aroma!  Luckily, MOST of the chicken was fine!  All I need to do is add more liquid next time and this should be a REALLY good recipe!  I've adjusted the recipe below so you don't get "blackened" anything when you make yours!

All in all, I was pretty proud that I actually made a healthy, Chinese dinner that actually tasted like Chinese!  Whoo hoo!  And I did it in a Crock Pot Slow Cooker!  Even more amazing!

Szechwan Chicken with Green Beans
served over Rice

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken, cubed into 1" pieces
1 onion, sliced into thin wedges
2 carrots, sliced into matchsticks
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. dry sherry
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 lb. fresh green beans, cleaned, ends snapped off
2 tsp. sesame seeds

Serve with Rice

Directions:
In a skillet, heat sesame oil.  Add chicken, onion, carrots, ginger and garlic to the oil.  Cook for a few minutes, just allowing the flavors to mix together and then chicken to barely cook.


In the Slow Cooker, add everything from the skillet, chicken broth, soy sauce, dry sherry and red pepper flakes.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  

When ready to serve, start your rice.  Add Green Beans, salt, pepper and sesame seeds to the Slow Cooker.  Stir and allow Green Beans to steam in the Slow Cooker until your rice is ready.

Serve your Szechwan Chicken with Green Beans over rice.  Enjoy!

Tips: I prepped everything the night before.  I washed the green beans, snapped the ends off and bagged them.  I also had the chicken and vegetables ready and once I cooked them for a few minutes in the skillet, I put them in the crock pot with the broth and other spices.  In the morning I just took it out of the fridge and plugged the Slow Cooker in!  When I got home, (well, I added more liquid to salvage my meal!)  I started the rice and added the green beans and remaining spices to the Slow Cooker while my rice cooked.  Super easy!




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6 comments:

  1. this one looks really yummy...
    definately gonna make that next time i have some informal company..

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  2. We made this one too and added extra mushrooms to it. That was an awesome idea! This one was bit spicy but that could be due to the chef who made it even though he claims he did not change anything. Hmmm, right. I think he added a few extra dashes of spice when I was not looking.

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  3. This sounds fabulous! Do you think that I could make it with frozen green beans, or should I thaw them before using? I have some wonderful skinny green beans that we LOVE using in recipes.

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  4. Absolutely Becky......just give them a little longer to cook obviously!

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  5. Well, I followed the recipe to the letter and I ended up with a ton of liquid at the end and nothing but soggy slop. WILL NOT be making THIS again....awful

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