Peach Chicken

Peach chicken has been in heavy rotation at my house since my mother in law gave me Ellie Krieger's book So Easy. I love that I almost always have the ingredients on hand. Peach chicken is quite tasty and the toasted almonds add a nice crunch to the dish. 

You will need chicken, peaches, soy sauce, rice vinegar, canola oil, orange juice, chicken broth (not pictured), brown sugar, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, and sliced almonds. That's it.

Begin by whisking orange juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chicken broth, and brown sugar. Set this aside and prep your chicken.

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat and grab your chicken with confidence. Betty Crapper used to fear raw chicken. With time, Betty Crapper overcame her fears. Take a deep breath, you can too. Rinse and pat dry your chicken with paper towels. Slice chicken cross-wise. Season with salt and pepper. How much salt is up to you and your doctor.

Add 1 tbsp oil to skillet. Brown your chicken in batches. Do not crowd your pan and have patience. When browned set chicken on a plate.

As chicken browns, grab your garlic and ginger. Don't be afraid of fresh ginger. Snap off a little piece and peel it with a vegetable peeler. Use a micro-plane and grate about 1 tsp. 


I dare you to taste the ginger. Do it. You know you want to. 


Peel 2-3 cloves of garlic and mince. Betty Crapper loves her micro-plane and garlic press. The best kitchen tools EVER.

Once chicken is browned and all on a plate, add 1 more tbsp of oil to your skillet. Add ginger and garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds with no time for pictures.

Add your liquids to the skillet and scrape up all the lovely browned gunk on the bottom of your skillet. This layer of yum is the base of Peach Chicken's delicious sauce. Add your peaches and stir. Cook uncovered for about 6 minutes to reduce slightly.

Nestle chicken into your yummy sauce. Cover and lower heat.

Toast your almonds for about 2 minutes.

Baby cried. Betty Crapper walked away and came back to...

Betty Crapper was lucky she had more almonds and toasted some more...

Peach Chicken

(adapted from Ellie Krieger's book, So Easy)

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 tbsp canola oil

1 1/4 lbs boneless chicken breasts

salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 large firm but ripe peaches, sliced into 1/4-inch slices, or two 10-ounce packages frozen peaches

2 tbsp sliced almonds, toasted in a dry skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes

In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chicken broth until the sugar is dissolved. Set liquids aside. 

Prepare your chicken. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Slice cross-wise to make thin, if desired. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. 

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Then add 1 tablespoon of oil. Once oil is hot, add chicken to the skillet and brown both sides. Only turn chicken once. (Chicken unsticks from skillet when browned!) Brown the chicken in batches and transfer to a plate. 

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the same skillet. Add the ginger and garlic. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the liquid mixture and scrape up all the brown bits with a wooden spoon/spatula. Add the peaches and stir. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened and the peaches soften, about 6 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan, reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until the chicken is done, about 5 minutes. Serve the chicken with brown rice and toasted almonds.

Tips

• Conventional peaches have high pesticide residue. If at all possible try to buy organic. My regular supermarket does not carry frozen organic peaches. Whole foods sometimes has frozen organic peaches. The package must say "365 organic", not just "365." They carry both kinds. When they have them in stock, I buy several bags for my freezer. 
• Do not walk away from your stove when roasting almonds.
• Start your brown rice first and it will be ready by the time you are done making peach chicken.
• Have patience when browning chicken. Your pan must be preheated. The chicken will unstick when it is browned. Only turn chicken once.

Betty Crapper's ten month old loves peach chicken (without the almonds). I feed her little pieces off my plate.