I was meal planning recently when I realized it had been some time since I devoured a plate of our General Tso Tofu, one of my all time How to Eat faves.
With no tofu on hand, I did a quick brain storm to figure out how I could get the glorious General Tso flavours into my mouth as quickly as possible (short of just mixing the sauce ingredients and pouring it over ever.y.thing.)
And it came to me. In a lightbulb illumination type moment. Slow Cooker General Tso Pulled Chicken.
This one is going on repeat for a while.
This chicken packs a wallop of sweet, savoury and spicy goodness. The beauty of lightly sweetened coconut rice and crisp, cold, crunchy lettuce as side kicks, can’t be overstated either. The combination is heaven. And my heaven involves a lot of delicious food.
The recipes is also a total weeknight winner. Slow cook chicken while at work. Shred chicken, make rice, chop lettuce once home. 30 minutes easy, guys.
Even better, a build-a-bowl meal is always a family dinner winner too. Kids can help themselves to what they want. They won’t necessarily want it all, they may not want any of the components to touch (especially the lettuce god forbid). But it’s up to them. These are big bold flavours for my 3 year old, so I left some of the shredded chicken plain, and added a small plate of chopped cucumbers and carrots to the table. I’m being considerate, without making an entirely separate meal. Because, no kid. She can pick and choose what she likes or what she’s willing to try and I can relax.
And enjoy my date with General Tso.
Erin
General Tso Pulled Chicken and Coconut Rice Bowls
Print recipe| Serves | 4-6 |
Ingredients
- 2lb skinless boneless chicken (breasts or thighs)
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (optional)
- 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed with an equal amount of water)
- 1 head of romaine or iceberg lettuce (washed and chopped)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (toast sesame seeds over medium heat in a non-stick pan for 3-4 minutes)
- 3 green onions (thinly sliced)
Coconut Rice
- 1 1/2 cup basmati rice
- 1 can coconut milk (400mL)
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
| 1. | To a slow cooker, add chicken, soy sauce, honey, water, rice wine vinegar and chili sauce. Set on low and cook for about 5 hours until chicken is easy to pull apart. |
| 2. | Transfer chicken into a medium bowl and shred with two forks. Strain remaining sauce from the slow cooker into a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add cornstarch/ water mixture and simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and pour 1/2 the sauce over the shredded chicken. Mix until chicken is well coated. |
| 3. | In a medium saucepan add all ingredients for coconut rice and stir. Bring to a boil. Stir once more, reduce heat to low and cover with a tight fitting lid. Cook for 18 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to stand for 5 minutes and fluff with a fork. |
| 4. | Make individual rice bowls. Layer lettuce, coconut rice and shredded chicken in a bowl. Top with green onion, sesame seeds and an extra drizzle of the remaining sauce. |
Carol Baker says
I’m assuming the sesame oil goes in the slow cooker with the chicken as well. Just don’t see it in step 1.
Samantha says
Great post! It looks absolutely amazing. Definitely going to try it out. Thank you for sharing and keep up the good work