Orange Sesame Chicken

Orange Sesame Chicken

Ingredients:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 navel orange
1/8 cup Honey
1 tbsp. Soy sauce
1/4 cup Sweet orange marmalade
1/2 tbsp. Canola or peanut oil
1/4 tsp. Asian sesame oil
2/3 tsp. Thai chile sauce ( Sriracha)
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 cups Toasted Breadcrumbs (use fresh crumbs not the pre-crumbled kind on the shelves)
1/4 cup Sesame seeds, lightly toasted

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 450.  Break bread into tiny pieces and pulse until you have rough crumbs. Then toast them over the stove in olive oil until golden.  Set aside.

With a meat pounder, lightly pound the chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap to even out the thickness of the breasts.  

Grate the zest from half of the orange. Then, cut 2 very thin slices from the center of the orange to use later.

In a large bowl, combine the zest with honey, soy sauce, marmalade,  canola oil, sesame oil, chile sauce, and salt. Add the chicken and toss to coat well.

In a large shallow dish, toss the breadcrumbs with the sesame seeds. Working with one piece at a time, transfer the chicken to the dish of crumbs, scoop some crumbs on top, and press well a couple of times so the breadcrumbs adhere to both sides. Transfer to a rack on an aluminum-lined baking sheet. Dip the orange slices in the leftover marmalade mixture to coat both sides and set on the rack.

Bake until chicken's temperature reaches 165 degrees (about 20 minutes). Be aware that the crumbs may start to burn because of the high temps so adjust as needed. When finished, top the breasts with the orange slices. I served it with jasmine rice.