First off, my apologies for not posting anything for ages. Last week was crazy busy, both at work and personally. Combine that with the time change and I was just wiped out. But hey, I’m back, and I’ll hopefully have time to post two recipes today!
This one is based off of my favorite dish at the lunch buffet that I go to every now and then with my co-workers. They have a Szechuan chicken that is the perfect level of heat and salt and a tiny bit of sweetness, and I’m addicted to it. I have it maybe three times a year, but it’s definitely not fully keto when I get it from there. I’m sure the sauce has cornstarch and sugar in it. Also, last week we did the final harvest off of our jalapeño plant, so I had the amount I needed to make this recipe. And honestly, I think I nailed it!
Start out by thinly slicing 2.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken. I used breasts for this because it’s what I had, but thighs would probably be more accurate to the original recipe. Set that aside and begin working on the veggies. Slice half of a large onion into slivers and an entire bunch of well-washed green onions into 3-inch pieces. Put the white parts in with the onions, and put the green parts into a separate bowl. Slice 4 jalapeño peppers into thin rings, leaving the membranes and seeds intact. Put those in the bowl with the onion slivers. Finally, in a small bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup of soy sauce (use tamari or coconut aminos if you want), 2 tablespoons each of rice wine vinegar and sesame oil, a tablespoon each of minced garlic and chili garlic sauce, and a teaspoon each of ground ginger and brown sugar substitute.
Now that you have your mise en place together, heat up 2 tablespoons of avocado oil in a large wok over high heat. Carefully add the chicken, letting it slide down the sides of the wok into the oil. Be careful of spatters! I still have healing burns on my hands because I was working too quickly. Sprinkle it with a little salt and white pepper, and stir fry it until the pieces are just cooked on the outside but you can still see that they’re pink in the middle. At that point, add the contents of the bowl with the onions, peppers, and white parts of the green onions. Continue to saute until the onions are soft and the chicken is mostly cooked through, then add the liquids. Let those cook down for a bit, then add the green onion strips. Stir until the green onions are wilted but not brown. If you want, sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum into the wok and stir a few times until the liquid thickens. Serve it immediately over cauliflower rice or Miracle Rice. This reheats pretty well too, so if you want to use it for meal prep, you certainly can. I just ate the leftovers straight out of a bowl.
Low-Carb Szechuan Chicken
Equipment
- Wok
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 large onion sliced into slivers
- 1 bunch green onions sliced into 3" strips and separated
- 4 jalapeño peppers sliced into rings
- 1/3 cup soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar substitute
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- salt and white pepper to taste
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp xanthan gum optional
Instructions
- Slice your chicken and set it aside. On a separate cutting board and using a separate knife, sliver the onions, slice the peppers, and cut the green onions into 3" strips. Put the white parts of the green onion in a bowl with the onions and peppers, and put the green parts of the green onion in a separate bowl.
- Whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, garlic, chili garlic sauce, sweetener, and ginger in a small bowl.
- Heat the avocado oil in a large wok over high heat. Add the chicken by sliding it by handfuls down the sides of the wok into the oil, being careful to avoid spatters. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. Stir fry the chicken until the outsides of the pieces just begin to turn white but the insides are still visibly pink.
- Add the onions, peppers, and white parts of the green onions and continue stir-frying until the onions are soft and the chicken is almost cooked through.
- Add the liquids and continue to stir fry for about 2 minutes, allowing some of the liquid to reduce. Put in the green parts of the green onion and stir fry until they're wilted. If desired, sprinkle the xanthan gum over the contents and stir until the sauce begins to thicken. Serve immediately over a rice substitute.
- Macros, calculated using chicken breasts: 291 calories, 4 grams net carbs, 44 grams protein, 11 grams fat.
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