Every time I take a bite I can't believe this chicken has come from a slow cooker. The soy sauce base hits the tongue and marries instantly with a garlicky, ginger broth. This meal is addicting. I made a rendition of this chicken in 2015 but have tweaked it a bit. Both versions are excellent. The former version has a less concentrated, umami flavor. If you want a version that isn't as strong with soy and ginger, try the 2015 version.
Do you believe certain recipes can act as legacies or perhaps trigger lasting, loving memories? I do. My mother passed away 13 years ago and it was a heart breaking experience. I’m not sure any other loss in my life will compare. Loss strikes us in expected and unexpected ways. I didn’t expect to panic when I couldn’t recreate my favorite childhood meals after she passed. Her death was sudden and while she taught me much and prepared me well for the life ahead of me, she didn’t have the time to explain how she made my childhood favorites. We didn’t even think of it. A week after her diagnosis, she was gone. When she passed I found myself struggling as I patched memories and meals together. I searched for recipes and found some recipe framework but nothing tasted exactly as she made it. I quickly realized my mom was a lot like me. Neither of us follow recipes to the “T”.
It’s also true that no two cooks are the same. You can learn and measure exactly like the person who taught you a recipe and yet the result will be absolutely yours and not his or hers. When they say cooking is part passion and love, I believe it. A lot of a recipe isn’t just the exact measurement of ingredients, it’s also about the feel of the recipe, the exact seasoning and the conditions in your kitchen. Sometimes it’s even about your mood. On one day you want something spicy, the next time you make it you may want it sweeter or smokier. Sometimes I’m impatient and I don’t cook something for a long as I usually do. There are so many factors that alter how something tastes. Cooking is a lot like life isn’t?
When you try this recipe, read the notes and alter the ingredients to suit you and who you’re cooking for. Keep in mind that what you change will alter the rest of the recipe and that’s ok. In the end, recipes are gifts. When you receive the gift, you are free to make it as you wish and make it your own.
RECIPE NOTES:
- Updated May 2020 - if you use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce this dish will taste like Polynesian chicken! The sauce will taste savory with notes of caramel and coconut. I also left the lid ajar for the last hour and the sauce reduced to a glaze.
- The longer you cook this, the more the chicken will tenderize and the texture will alter. A shorter cooking time will result in chicken that is more “whole”. The sauce will not permeate through the whole meat. A longer cooking time will result in chicken that is very easy to pull apart, with the sauce permeating the meat through and through.
- A longer cooking time will result in a more gelatin-like consistency for the broth. The flavors will be more like a bone broth and they will marry together in a savory, pungent flavor.
- I use boneless chicken thighs and I trim extra fat to keep the sauce from being too thick with fat.
- I always cook this on low.
- I turn the chicken half way cooking time so the sauce penetrates both sides of the chicken. If you don’t want to do this consider doubling the sauce portion.
- Get a very nice sear on this chicken to have some texture in the final result.
- If you want this for Instagram, have some parsley or cilantro available at the table to sprinkle over top as garnish so this has a “fresh” look.
- This freezes and reheats well.
- If the soy sauce flavor overpowers you after the first try, increase the water to 1/2 cup.
- I serve this over rice and sometimes with pot stickers found in the frozen section of the super market.
- You can top this with some scallion as garnish also.
THE RECIPE:
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CALORIES: Per Thigh and with 1/4 of the sauce: 200 calories/9.5 g total fat/1.3g saturated fat/7.7g carbs/20.4g protein/986.4mg sodium/6g sugar
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger (I really like McCormick brand)
1/4 cup slivered almonds
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the chicken for 5 minutes on 1 side and then 5 minutes on the other side in oil. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, water, garlic and ginger; pour over chicken.
Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken juices run clear. Remove chicken to a serving platter sprinkle with almonds.
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