One Pot Black Pepper Chicken

Servings: 4
Time: 25 - 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
2 cups rice
Salt & pepper to taste
2 bell peppers of any color (yellow & red in original recipe)
1 white onion sliced
2 tbsp sesame oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
2 tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
1 ½ tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp sweetener (sugar or coconut sugar)
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp crushed red chili pepper flakes
- nix this if making kid-friendly or if you don't like spice
1 tsp sesame seeds (garnish)
1 tbsp green onion (garnish)
Yum yum sauce or sriracha (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut the onion and bell pepper into strips.
Cut the chicken into cubes and season with salt & pepper
Cook rice according to packaging.
Heat 1 tbsp sesame oil in a large skillet (or wok) over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken cubes until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
Pour 1 more tbsp of sesame oil and saute the minced garlic & ginger until fragrant.
Add bell peppers and onion, cooking for 4 - 6 minutes until softened.
Return the cooked chicken to the skillet and cook for 2 - 3 additional minutes.
In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, cornstarch, sugar, honey, black pepper, and chili pepper flakes until well combined and sugar dissolves.
Pour over the chicken and vegetables, cooking until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
Turn off the heat. Sprinkle it with sesame seeds and green onions and serve with cooked rice. Use additional soy sauce, yum yum sauce or sriracha if desired.

TIDBITS:

Using the red pepper flakes and topping with sriracha was pretty dang spicy - aka Josh had to get up half way through dinner to blow his nose spicy.. so adjust accordingly!