Tasty Bites: Teriyaki Grilled Chicken Thighs and Pan-Roasted Asparagus with Sesame Ginger Sauce

By Beth V

While we still have those ingredients from last week’s Asian Lettuce Wraps, let’s make another delicious Asian-inspired dish. The marinade for this chicken is delicious and easy to throw together. While my husband was grilling the chicken, I put together a side dish that complements it nicely -  pan-roasted asparagus with sesame-ginger sauce. Grilling is a great way to welcome the warmer weather of spring. I hope the readers here have at least begun to see some hints of spring! Here in the South, spring is in full-swing. For those of you further North,  maybe grilling will at least help you feel like spring is on its way

Start by combining ½ cup soy sauce, ½ cup sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 minced garlic clove and ¾ teaspoon ground ginger (or 1 tablespoon of freshly minced ginger - see last week‘s post for a great video on how to use fresh ginger) in a gallon-size zipper bag. Throw in 1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I recommend thighs because they hold up so well to grilling. Thighs are super-flavorful and they stay nice and tender. They do not dry out like boneless, skinless breasts sometimes do. Squish the bag around to evenly distribute the marinade. Squeeze out the air so every surface is in contact with the flavors and then stick it back in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

At this point you can either grill the chicken or prep the ingredients for the asparagus. For the asparagus, start by giving it a good rinse, then snap off just the bottom woody ends. The best way to do this is to hold the top part and, using your other hand, bend the stalk until the bottom end breaks off.

Set them aside and we will make the sesame-ginger sauce. First we need to toast some sesame seeds. I toasted ¼ cup, but I think I could have gotten away with about half that much, so I would recommend 2 tablespoons. You will see in the pictures below that mine turned out very sesame-seedy, but still very delicious. Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds, stirring frequently, until they start to smell fragrant and turn a golden color, them remove them from the heat. The toasting process takes the flavor of the sesame seeds from bland to something special.

In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, the toasted sesame seeds, 2 cloves fresh minced garlic, a tablespoon of fresh, minced ginger, ¼ teaspoon spicy mustard, 3 tablespoons sesame oil and 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil. Just as with last week’s Asian Lettuce Wraps, you want the darker, toasted sesame oil for true sesame flavor. If you are not planning on cooking the asparagus right away, you can prepare this sauce and refrigerate it as much as a day in advance.

Now back to the chicken.  Once your grill is preheated, cook the chicken for about 5-7 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Bring the chicken inside and cover with foil, allowing it to rest. The foil allows it to continue to increase in temperature by about 5 degrees while you finish preparing the asparagus. Doesn’t it look scrumptious?

To finish the asparagus, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add ½ tablespoon olive oil and ½  tablespoon butter to the pan until the butter melts and the oil shimmers. The butter adds a bit of extra flavor, but the oil cuts down a bit on the unhealthy fats. Add the asparagus to the pan and give it a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Turn the asparagus every minute or two until it is browned in spots and crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Another very flavorful cooking method for asparagus is to toss the asparagus in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper and roast it under the broiler until it is brown in spots and crisp-tender, turning every 2 minutes until you’ve reached your desired tenderness. Just cooking it this way alone without any extra sauce really elevates the flavor of the asparagus to a different level than steaming alone can bring.

Now, depending on your preference, this sesame-ginger sauce can be used on hot or cool cooked asparagus. We enjoyed ours warm. I removed the pan from the heat and stirred in the sauce, allowing it to thoroughly coat the asparagus. As you can see from the picture, I could have used about twice as much asparagus or half the amount of sauce. I’ve adjusted the recipe accordingly below. When I was ready to serve the asparagus, I used tongs to pull it out of the sauce and you can see it has a nice coating of sauce and sesame seeds. This makes a very pretty side dish.

We enjoyed our teriyaki grilled chicken and pan-roasted asparagus with a side of mashed potatoes. Rice or Asian noodles would be more authentic, but the mashed potatoes made a great flavor combination with the chicken and asparagus. You could also forego the carbs altogether and serve alongside a fresh salad.

I hope you’ll give these recipes a try!

Teriyaki Grilled Chicken Thighs

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2  cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons toasted (dark) sesame oil

1 minced garlic clove (or ½ teaspoon minced garlic)

3/4 teaspoons ground or 1 tablespoon fresh, minced ginger

1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1. Combine ingredients in a gallon-size zipper bag. Add chicken and squish the bag to coat the chicken well. Squeeze out extra air and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

2. Grill 5-7 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Remove to a plate and tent with foil. Allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.

Pan-Roasted Asparagus with Sesame Ginger Sauce
Sauce adapted from food.com

For the asparagus:

½ tablespoon olive oil

½ tablespoon butter

2 bunches asparagus, tough ends snapped off

Salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

2 cloves garlic, finely minced or 1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely minced

1/4 teaspoon spicy mustard

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons sesame oil

1. Prepare the sauce. Heat a small, dry skillet over medium heat. Add sesame seeds and stir frequently until fragrant and golden in color. Remove from heat.

2. Combine remaining sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Add sesame seeds. Allow to chill until ready to use, up to 24 hrs in advance.

3. Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and butter and heat until the butter melts and the oil shimmers. Add the asparagus to the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, turning every 1-2 minutes until the asparagus is browned in spots and crisp-tender.

4. Pour the sauce over the hot asparagus (or over cool asparagus if desired) to thoroughly coat. Remove the asparagus to a serving dish.

Enjoy!

Beth is a stay-at-home mom of three wonderfully active children ages seven, four and one. She is married to Jason V (who also writes for us here at MAD21) and spends her days teaching, changing diapers, sweeping up Cheerios, stepping over Legos, keeping peace among the kids, and enjoying the creative outlet of cooking.