Korean "Fried" Chicken

It's been too long friends. I've had a heck of a lot of life going on in the last months. As of January, I've been on a large 18 month implementation for work, which has me working crazy hours, eating not so well, and coming home tired and not ready to cook. In the last ten months, I've gained weight and have not been the happiest person. While I love how easy my meal delivery programs are, it's not a practical way to live and eat healthy. So my husband and I are trying a month long adventure into the gluten and dairy free lifestyle, not quiet paleo, but as close as we can get to it.

I'll be trying to cook most of our meals and hope to do a better job of meal prepping, so please join me in our adventure. I'll be sure to share the recipes that make the cut, the first of which was pretty much the only meal that Bill said he would eat again. Cut to Korean "Fried" Chicken. It's sweet and spicy and all together delicious!

ingredients:
1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat, cut into medium pieces
sea salt
coconut oil

For the sauce
½ small red onion, roughly diced
1/2 inch long fresh ginger root, peeled and roughly diced (about 1 tablespoon grated)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons tamari sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon mirin
3 teaspoons korean red powder
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Garnish
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
spring onion for garnish

directions:
Season chicken with a little sea salt and set aside.

Add the sauce ingredients to a blender or a food processor. Blend together until fairly smooth, then scrape into a small saucepan. If you don't have a blender, grate the onion, ginger and garlic and mix well with the rest of the ingredients.

Add the sesame seeds to a clean frying pan. Heat over medium heat. Toast for a minute or two, stirring frequently, until the seeds brown slightly. Remove to a bowl.
Heat a dollop of coconut oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken pieces and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes on each side.

In the meantime, place the pot with the sauce over medium heat. Bring to simmer and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. This will thicken the sauce and cook some of the ingredients such as onion, garlic and ginger, making those flavors more subtle.

Once the chicken has cooked on each side, add the sauce over the top and stir through. Cook together for 2-3 minutes, stirring a few times. The sauce will caramelize and get even more sticky. Finally, sprinkle with some of the sesame seeds and stir through. Then top with green onion and the rest of the sesame seeds.

Serve with cucumber salad, cauliflower rice or white rice.

Recipe from Eat Drink Paleo.