The key to creating great flavor in this dish is marinating the chicken for several hours before baking and then reserving half the marinade for glazing the chicken at the end of the cooking process to add delicious asian flavor.  Any extra chicken would be great in a salad the next day.  The chili garlic paste adds some heat to the dish, but not an essential ingredient if you prefer a less spicy version of the chicken.  It pairs beautifully with sushi rice and edamame and some roasted broccoli for a dinner that is sure to please both kids and adults.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

for chicken, marinade and glaze:

  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
  • 2/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
  • 2 tablespoons minced ginger
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • sliced scallions for garnish
  • sesame seeds for sprinkling before serving

for edamame sticky rice:

  • 2 cups steamed sticky white rice
  • 1 1/2 cups shelled edamame
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions

Directions:

for rice and edamame:

In a small saucepan, heat sesame oil to medium heat.  Add edamame and sauté for several minutes until coated.  Add soy sauce to the pan.  Remove from heat and add edamame to the steamed rice. Toss in sliced scallions an additional soy sauce as desired.

for chicken:

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients for marinade and heat on low until brown sugar is dissolved.  Place chicken breasts in a large ziplock bag and add half of marinade to bag and refrigerate (reserving remainder of marinade for glaze in fridge to use later) for several hours and up to 12 hours.  Preheat oven to 375.  Line a baking sheet with parchment, remove chicken, discarding the marinade in the bag and bake chicken for about 40 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160.  While chicken is baking, take marinade reserved for glaze and heat gently on medium heat until it is reduced by half and has developed a syrupy consistency.  Glaze the chicken with a pastry brush during the last 5 minutes of baking and then use the extra glaze to coat the chicken when out of the oven.  Sprinkle chicken with sliced scallion and sesame seeds.  Serve alongside rice and roasted broccoli.  Enjoy!