This is a story about a girl and her favourite meal ever… okay is that lame? My favourite dish at one of my favourite restaurants for the past 15 years has been the ginger chicken bowl from a place called Open Sesame in YYC. Why is it so good? The chicken is perfectly fried, the sauce is to die for, the veggies are crisp, the rice is fluffy… I am honestly dreaming about it right now.
I had to try and make my own version at home, and it’s great because with the air fryer I can make it without deep frying! Now don’t get me wrong, I still love the original dish, but this one is a close runner up. Alright, lets make the best damn bowl of all time (in my mind)
*If you don’t have an air fryer, you can follow the same instructions but use a pan fry method instead (heat oil in cast iron skillet and fry)
Ingredients:
Chicken
- 1.5 lbs chicken (breast or thigh)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- salt & pepper
Sauce
- 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp sriracha (or to taste)*
- dash red pepper flakes (to taste)*
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp cornstarch
*spicy factor is dependent on your personal taste, start with 1 tsp sriracha and just a small dash of red pepper flakes and then add from there if needed
Other
- stir fry veggies of choice, I use baby bok choy, red pepper, and mushrooms
- sesame oil
- sesame seeds
- rice (preferably jasmine)
Preparation:
- Dice chicken into cubes
- Whisk egg in a small bowl and set aside, then in a medium shallow bowl combine flour, cornstarch, pepper & salt
- Batter your chicken by dipping in egg and then tossing in dry ingredient bowl (do this slowly, it’s a pain but if you try and do too much at once you will end up with clumpy battered chicken)
- Place your battered chicken on the air fryer racks (make sure you have non stick racks or use a cooking spray first)
- Cook chicken according to your air fryer instructions, generally you want the heat at 400°F, ours recommends 15 minutes and then rotating the racks, and then cooking for an additional 15 minutes. Cook until internal temperature of chicken is 165°F & chicken is golden and crispy on the outside
- While chicken is cooking, prepare your sauce by whisking all ingredients in a small bowl/jar
- Heat sesame oil in wok on medium/high and stir fry your veggies of choice, remove from pan
- Heat sauce on low/medium temp in wok until it starts to slightly thicken and remove from heat, *really watch your sauce to make sure you don’t over heat it* once it starts to thicken toss your veggies and chicken back in and mix until completely covered
- Serve on top of rice, top with sesame seeds
