Sesame mango chicken teriyaki

INGREDIENTS

For the Teriyaki Sauce:

·         15 medjool dates, pitted and soaked in ½ cup hot water (see notes - you can use sugar instead if you want)

·         ¾ cup soy sauce, reduced sodium

·         ¼ cup rice vinegar

·         3 cloves garlic

·         1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced, smashed, or in paste form

·         ½ cup chicken broth

Everything Else:

·         1 yellow onion

·         1-2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts (see notes)

·         ¼ cup flour

·         a generous pinch of salt and pepper

·         a generous pinch of chili powder

·         1 tablespoon oil

·         2-3 cups frozen mango chunks (fresh could also work)

·         sesame seeds, green onions, sesame oil, fish sauce, or limes for topping

·         cooked rice for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1.    Get your rice cooking, if you're serving this with rice. I always just start that in the rice cooker right away so it's ready in time!

2.    In a food processor or blender, puree the soaked dates and their water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger. Continue to blend or process until very, very smooth. Set aside.

3.    Thinly slice the onion. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Combine the flour, salt, pepper, and chili powder in a shallow dish and dredge each piece of chicken in the flour mixture to get a light coating.

4.    Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large pan. Add the onions and stir fry for a few minutes. Add the chicken and stir fry for a few minutes until browned. Add the sauce and the broth (turn heat down to avoid splatter) - adding more broth if needed to thin out the sauce. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the mango chunks, stir, and cover and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

5.    Serve over rice topped with sesame seeds, green onions, sesame oil, fish sauce, lime juice, or anything else that strikes your fancy.

NOTES

If you want an even sauce-to-chicken ratio, I'd suggest using 1½ or 2 pounds of chicken. But if you wanted to add in some veggies and still have extra sauce to coat, then one pound of chicken would work.

If you want to use sugar instead, use about ½ cup. I'd suggest blending as directed and then slow simmering the sauce for a while to thicken it up and dissolve the sugar before adding to the pan with the chicken. 15 minutes or so should do the trick.