26 January 2017

Sesame Orange Chicken Bites - Wingless Wings

Sesame Orange Chicken Bites - Wingless Wings / www.delightfulrepast.com

Chicken wings, a game day classic, are something I like the taste of but do not like to serve because I do not like to see a bunch of people milling around collecting little piles of bones on their plates! So I wanted to make something wing-like but boneless. I like to call them Wingless Wings.

It seemed like boneless skinless chicken thighs would be ideal for something like this because of their ability to retain moisture, but there is one drawback. They're quite irregular in shape, very flat in places, so they really don't make very attractive or even remotely uniform pieces.

Boneless skinless chicken breasts can be cut into much more attractive bites, so that's what I recommend. Mr Delightful isn't a chicken wing man (or even a wingless wing man), so I served it to him on a bed of rice with a side of broccoli for dinner. He liked it!

Sesame Orange Chicken Bites - Wingless Wings / www.delightfulrepast.com
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Sesame Orange Chicken Bites - Wingless Wings


1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces/59 ml) lower sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces/59 ml) apple cider vinegar 
1 tablespoon (0.5 fluid ounce/15 ml) honey 
Finely grated zest and juice from 1 medium orange
1 teaspoon minced shallot 
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger 
1/4 teaspoon curry powder 
1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
1 1/2 pounds (24 ounces/680 grams) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 36)
2 tablespoons (1 ounce/28 grams) unsalted butter, melted 
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
Optional slurry of cornstarch to thicken sauce
Green onions for garnish

1 In 1.5-quart lidded bowl, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, honey, orange zest and juice, shallot, fresh ginger, curry powder, sesame oil and cayenne pepper.

2 Add chicken pieces, coating well. Refrigerate, covered, and let marinate for 6 to 24 hours.

3 Preheat oven to 425F/220C/Gas7. Broiling would probably work well, but I didn't want to put my best half sheet pan under the broiler and my second-best was on duty elsewhere.

4 Remove chicken from marinade and pat thoroughly dry. Spread out the pieces on a foil- or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (a half sheet pan is perfect).

5 Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 20 minutes. (I use my Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen Instant Read Thermometer to spot check the bites to make sure they've hit the internal temperature of 165F/74C.)


Note: I did not toast the sesame seeds because I thought they would toast sufficiently in the oven. They didn't, so next time I will definitely toast my sesame seeds first.

6 Strain marinade into small saucepan. Bring to boil; boil gently for 10 minutes (very important to kill raw chicken germs!). Reduce heat and continue simmering a couple of minutes, stirring in an additional tablespoon of honey, if desired. Remove from heat, cover and let stand till chicken is done. 

7 Reheat. Taste and adjust seasoning (I added just a pinch of cayenne). If it's not as thick as you'd like, dissolve a teaspoon of cornstarch in a minimal amount of water and stir it into the sauce a little at a time.

8 Place chicken bites on serving dish, pour on as much sauce as you'd like; serve the extra sauce in a bowl. Garnish with some finely sliced green onions.

61 comments:

Angie's Recipes said...

wow those chicken bites are so beautifully cut..your husband was right..now they look even more tempting!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Angie! I'll tell him you approve of his opinion! :D

Thomas "Sully" Sullivan said...

Ooh…sweet tang. I do like orange chicken. Especially if it explores the range of possibilities within the sauce, like PF Chang’s. But broccoli with a delicate Chinese dish is like flotsam in a pristine pool. I suppose one could 86 the brocc. Ooh, ooh…got it. If the green thing has to be served with orange chicken, make it winged broccoli! Then it could fly away on its own. Bye-bye, broccoli. Do not phone home.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Sully, I had a feeling you might like orange chicken. And if you were at my table I would know instinctively not to put broccoli on your plate. But if someone did, I'm sure the broccoli would take wing before subjecting itself to your scorn. :D

Pauline Wiles said...

Jean, it's sort of breakfast time here, but nonetheless I could happily demolish these. I'll be trying them for sure. I enjoy a (well-made, tender) sesame beef dish and this looks lighter. Thanks for the reminder on the importance of cooking the marinade thoroughly.

Dom said...

these look so scummy and so 'pop in the mouth' ready to eat... SO HUNGRY!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Pauline, thank you. Yes, I'm a real germaphobe and am always very careful about how food is handled in the kitchen.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Dom. Great to hear from you!

Karen (Back Road Journal) said...

Wingless wings…I love the idea and yours sound delicious.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Karen, thank you! Quick and easy, too. I think I'll be making a lot more of these.

Daniela said...

What a fanciful and appetizing idea, my darling Jean, you never stop to amaze me !

Trusting you're enjoying a great week so far,
I'm sending you my warmest hug,
filled with the deepest gratitude

XO Dany

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, dear Dany. I love anything with orange and sesame, so ...

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

Your chicken looks delicious, Jean. The long time to marinate must make them quite yummy. The orange and sesame sounds wonderful. For appetizers or a meal they sound great. ♥

Amy at love made my home said...

I cannot bear to eat anything with a bone, so these would be a wonderful alternative for me. What a great idea of yours and very tasty too I am sure!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Martha Ellen. I think orange and sesame is one of those magical culinary combinations!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Amy. I find that bones get in the way of my pretending that everything I eat is a vegetable! I really should be a vegetarian, but my husband doesn't thrive on it and I can't prepare two different meals.

Debbie Harris said...

Oh yum! Chicken, orange and sesame, can't beat that combination. :)
I love the way you have cut the chicken.
This is a must try for certain.♡

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks so much, Debbie! Let me know how it turns out for you.

Marisa Franca @ Allourway said...

Looks delicious and you can have a nice neat plate without a pile of bones. YES! That certainly is a plus as far as I'm concerned but the males in my family are carnivores that enjoy attacking bones. Perhaps I'll make some dainty bites for the females in the family and the males can attack the bone-in wings. Great idea! Have a wonderful weekend.

Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch) said...

Great idea Jean. Looks delicious.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

What a great idea, Marisa -- make these "daintier" bites for some, and the bone-in wings for the hardcore carnivores in the group! :D

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Lea Ann. Have fun watching those Broncos!

Jennifer said...

These are such a great idea! I love to eat chicken wings but I know that some people like the flavor but don't like the bones or the sometimes unsightly veins in them. Thanks for sharing at Saucy Saturdays! I am adding these to my Superbowl menu for sure!

Jeanie said...

These look like a tasty alternative! Thanks, Jean!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Jennifer, I'd freak out if I got one with unsightly veins in it! I hope you'll like these as much as we do. Have fun!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Jeanie! Have a wonderful hygge weekend!

Dee | GrammysGrid.com said...

Yum! These look tasty! Going to have to give them a try. Thank you Jean for sharing this post at the Wednesday AIM Link Party. I shared it on my social media sites.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks so much, Grammy Dee! SM shares are always appreciated!

TONY said...

I'm not sure about this one, Jean. Call me cantankerous, but, if we buy and present food such as chicken and other meats in a boneless state then do we, as a species, begin to forget where food comes from and how it is produced? We do tend to package beef, chicken, lamb, pork etc in such a way that we have no idea about how food actually gets to us. I think every child should know how we get food and how it is produced. It should be taught at school.If a few messy bones on our plates is a result then that's a good thing. Yes, Jean, call me cantankerous. Ha! Ha!
Hope you and Mr Delightful are well? All the very best, Tony

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Tony, actually we are in complete agreement about that issue, and I'm pretty cantankerous about it, too! I am very particular about where my food comes from, especially meat. It's important to me that it was produced ethically and humanely. And children should know these things. But I maintain that having "a few messy bones on our plates" is, nevertheless, not always a good thing! :D

organicgardendreams said...

Hi Jean, now that is a recipe to my liking. I know already from seeing the ingredients that you used that it must be good and I am inclined to try it out myself.
One question, though, why would you not put your "best half sheet pan" under the broiler? Would the broiler damage the pan? Is the temperature too high?
I don't have a half sheet pan, but thought I would use my small roaster that I got for Christmas and make a bigger batch. That should work, shouldn't it?
Warm regards,
Christina

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Hi Christina, I was just going by maximum oven temps recommended by most manufacturers. I think I read somewhere that it was 450F. It would probably do fine under the broiler, but I just didn't want to take a chance with my favorite half sheet pan. Though I'm not a fan of disposables, I have on occasion been known to use an aluminum foil broiler pan. But back to the oven: If you have a couple of rimmed baking sheets of any sort, that would probably work better than a roasting pan. A roasting pan's higher sides might make a more steamy environment than a shallow rimmed baking sheet would. Let me know what you work out.

Debbie Harris said...

This week we tried your chicken and oh was it ever delicious!
That recipe is a keeper!
Thank you Jean~~

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Debbie, thank you so much! And I really appreciate your coming back and telling me about it. Hope you're having a delicious weekend!

Cocoa and Lavender said...

Like Mr. Delightful, I am not a fan of wings. This is the perfect solution! I am going to try these for dinner this week. I even have all the ingredients - which never happens! I also love the versatility of this recipe - appetizer or main course!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, David! Hope you like it! I wanted to make soup for a sick friend this morning, didn't have all the ingredients, was at the nearest grocery store at 6:30am!

Alix @A Hedgehog in the Kitchen said...

These look so yummy, I would happily eat them this very moment!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Alix! I could go for some right now myself!

Joy|Yummy Seconds said...

These chicken bites sounds delicious. Pinning to my quick and easy recipe board.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Joy, thank you! Social media shares are always appreciated!

Menaka Bharathi said...

Looks so delicious, I would love to try them soon.
The Bloggers Pit stop Crew

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Menaka! I've apparently been making too many organic chicken dishes lately. When asked what he'd like for dinner, my husband said, "Anything but chicken!"

Unknown said...

Yum- this looks so yummy and completely doable!

#dreamteam

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Kristin, thanks! Yes, it is completely doable!

Unknown said...

I am loving the idea of wingless wings. I too always shy away from wings as I can't bring myself to eat off the bone. Especially teeny tiny wing bones *shudders*. Chicken breast sounds great though and this must be so tasty! Thanks for sharing with #DreamTeam x

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, RWW! (And, readers, if you like rhymes, you must visit this blog. This woman has a way with rhymes!)

The Charm of Home said...

This would be a hit at my house! Looks good.

Kitchen Riffs said...

I'm with you on chicken wings -- great flavor, but so messy. So I like to deconstruct mine, too. Never thought to use chicken breast, though -- but I will. Terrific recipe -- thanks!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, TCoH! It's fun to have something that doubles as an appetizer or a main.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

KR, thanks so much! I hope you will try it soon, John.

GOOFYFOOT said...

IN LIEU OF REUSING THE MARINADE, JUST RESERVE PART BEFORE COATING THE CHICKEN OR ADDING A BIT MORE TO ORIGINAL QUANTITIES. LOOKS TASTY.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Goofyfoot. Sure, you can do it that way, too, but I like reusing the marinade, after a good boil, so there's no waste.

Cocoa and Lavender said...

Jean - I wanted to let you know that we both loved this dish! It is going into our regular rotation! Thanks again. I hope your friend is feeling better!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

David, thank you for coming back and letting me know! And, yes, my friend is on the mend, just needs to make a couple of lifestyle adjustments. Thanks again.

April J Harris said...

Jean, I love this recipe! It has tons of flavour and it's so versatile. I'm not a real bone person myself so wings are always a bit of a challenge. This is a great way to get all the flavour with none of the mess. I also like the idea of serving it with rice and a side! Shared on the Hearth and Soul Facebook page and Pinned. Thank you so much for being a part of Hearth and Soul. Have a lovely weekend!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

April, thank you so much. I really appreciate your comments, link parties, social media shares and your lovely blog!

Susan J Meyerott, M.S. said...

Yum, Jean! This Sesame orange Chicken Bites recipe is perfect in oh-so-many-ways! I am a thigh woman and also dislike chomping on little wing bones--so messy. The ingredients are just right and not only will Mr (not) Lightarted love these, so will I. Just got a pack of thighs so this will be on the menu soon!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Sue! Like I said, you might not get the cute little "even" bites with thighs, but if you can cope with "uneven" pieces you'll get great flavor.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

This sounds wonderful. Neither of us get the appeal of wings -- but this recipe (the way your hubby liked it) sounds delicious. Thanks.

Unknown said...

Jean, first off, this is a gorgeous presentation, just look at it! That plate, the chicken! Love it!

Second, you are a life saver! My kids love orange chicken, the only recipe that I've ever tried had orange juice concentrate, and it was too much, the kids hated it! I've not tried it again. But I am going to use your recipe, it looks and sounds so good! This is going to make me the best mom ever!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Nikki, thank you! I inherited those plates from my mother. Most orange chicken is syrupy sweet with lots of food dye, so I avoid it. I came up with this with just a touch of sweetness and orange flavor. Hope you an your kids like it!