First Post! Honey Mustard Chicken with Green Beans in a Chili-Soy-Garlic Sauce

This was a pretty tasty combination of flavors. At first I was thinking teriaki beef with a green bean stir fry, but I decided to go for a  sweet flavor in chicken to go the with salty-spicy veggies.

This meal fed 3 people, and cost around $15 to make!

This awesome storebought Tuong Ot Toi Viet-Nam brand garlic-chili sauce really packs a punch. This amount turned out spicy – just spicy enough for me, but too spicy for, say, my grandma. Just put in less (or no) chili sauce for less spicy. Put in a little at a time. As my Dad always says: "You can't add less."


Honey Mustard Chicken
~ ¼ cup honey, briefly microwaved to make it runny
~ ¼ cup dijon mustard
~ ¼ cup olive oil
~ 1-2 tsp. soy sauce
~ 1 tsp. garlic chili sauce
~ 2 cloves garlic
~ zest of 1 tangerine
~ to taste – garlic powder, chipotle powder (chili powder can be subbed), curry powder, salt, pepper
Whisk it all together in no particular order, then add to:
~ 1 lb boneless chicken breasts, chopped up to bite size
Marinate this for an hour or so, whatever kind of time you have. Then throw it all into a pan on medium heat right after putting the onions into the veggie pan.

This turned out to be a little too much flavor, and could have been more subtle. I did add juice from the tangerine, but I took that out of this recipe because that might have been what made it too strong. Next time I might do a little less than a quarter cup of everything, so it's less saucy. I would also add a splash of white wine next time. It looked a little monotone, too. You could add more color, say with some chopped green onions or something.

Next!

Green Bean, Bell Pepper, Onion Stir-Fry
Chop up to whatever size you like (I left them pretty large):
~ 1 lb green beans (chop off both ends, and cut the big ones in half)
~ 2 red bell peppers (yellow could be used too, make it more festive)
~ 1 red onion
~ 4 cloves garlic
Sauce:
~ 4 or so tbsp. soy sauce (I just splashed it in. Probably was more than 4 tbsp.)
~ 4 tbsp. or so olive oil (same thing. Don't overdo it though, you'll also be using some to start the veggies)
~ 1 tbsp. garlic chili sauce (again, this was spicy. Use with care)
~ 1 tsp. honey (warm, like before)
~ To taste – garlic powder, salt, pepper
Whisk the sauce together, and chop the veggies.
First, put the onions and garlic into a hot hot pan or wok with some olive oil, then add peppers once they're slightly browned.
While this is happening, steam the green beans for 3-4 minutes, then throw them into the onions and peppers, which should both be brown-ish at this point.
Then pour all of the sauce on top and cook for a bit longer, maybe 5-10 minutes. I added a bit of the sauce when I started each veggie, too, to let it soak in a bit. Most of it should be added after the green beans, to everything all together, though.

Veggies were the highlight of the evening for me. That chili sauce packs a punch, be careful. But it's just the right kind of spicy, that waits until after you swallow, then clears your sinuses. Good times!

Altogether, I think this turned out really good. I do not regret my decision to go with sweet chicken with the spicy veggies, though the meat could have been more subtle. Dad poured a Castle Rock Pinot Noir, $7 from Cost Plus, that worked perfectly with this. A mellow pinot does a great job of soothing the spicyness. Awesome ~$20 meal for three people.