Seoul-ful Chicken and Minted Cucumbers

This dish was delicious! I found this recipe in my Cooking Light magazine and I knew that I would try it. It included flavors we love and it looked like it would come together quickly.

About a month ago we bought an investment property, a house to be exact. Alex being a remodeler was excited to get his hands dirty and start renovating. It is so much fun to watch it all come together and to see him so happy. Because of this we have had to make some of our meals more portable. You see, the new house and our house are about 45 minutes apart in traffic and I work five minutes from the new house. With a mini charcoal grill and a microwave, there are only so many hamburgers and leftovers to be made.

That's where this delicious recipe comes in. I was able to marinate the meat overnight, make the cucumbers and the rice the night before, and transport all of this the next day to the fridge at the new house for dinner. The chicken took about 15 minutes on the grill. Pop the rice in the microwave and spoon on the cucumbers, and voila, there's dinner!

This dish was tasty, quick and easy. My changes are in blue!

Seoul-Ful Chicken and Minted Cucumbers (adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

Cucumbers:
1 English cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced (about 2 1/2 cups) used regular
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup minced shallots omitted, used minced garlic instead
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint omitted
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
added salted peanuts

Chicken:
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1 1/4 pounds) used skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Cooking spray
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
4 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted

Preparation

1. To prepare cucumbers, place cucumber slices in a colander; sprinkle with salt, tossing well. Drain 1 hour. Place cucumber slices on several layers of paper towels; cover with additional paper towels. Let stand 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally. Combine cucumber, shallots, and next 6 ingredients (through chile) in a large bowl; toss gently. Cover and set aside.

2. To prepare chicken, place each chicken thigh between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Combine soy sauce and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to soy sauce mixture in bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning bag occasionally.

3. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Place 4 thighs in pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure with remaining 4 thighs. Place 2 thighs and 1/2 cup cucumbers on each of 4 plates; sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon green onions and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 262(31% from fat); FAT 8.9g (sat 1.9g,mono 3g,poly 2.8g); PROTEIN 29.9g; CHOLESTEROL 115mg; CALCIUM 40mg; SODIUM 502mg; FIBER 1.5g; IRON 2.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 14.9g