Since Earth Fare had boneless skinless chicken thighs on sale the week I made this, I used those, and don't you know I stocked up! So, I doubled the recipe below and half went into the crock with that night's dinner and the other half went into a freezer bag for a future crock pot meal.
We fed four adults, three kids and still had leftovers for lunch the next day. I love it when a meal plan comes together.
Ingredients
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup liquid aminos (soy sauce works if you aren't gluten free)
1/4c brown rice vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1T onion powder
1T ginger
1/4t pepper
3T corn or tapioca starch, reserved
1/4c cold water, reserved
Optional: sesame seeds, green onions, cilantro, and/or sriracha for garnish
Cover the bottom of your crock pot with the chicken. In a mixing bowl, blender or bullet add in the honey, aminos, vinegar, garlic, onion powder, ginger and pepper. I used a stick blender to blend mine until well mixed and the garlic was pulverized.
Pour mixture over the chicken and turn the crock pot on low for 5-6 hours. Once cooked, pull the chicken out and shred on a plate. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water, pour into the crock, give a quick stir and add the chicken back in, tossing well to coat. It will thicken right away. Serve immediately, or turn to warm to eat later.
UPDATE!! Cook this in the Instant Pot in MINUTES! Add all but reserved ingredients to your Instant Pot, lock the lid and turn the valve. Press Manual, lower the time to 7 minutes. Do a quick pressure release and pull your thighs out to shred. Turn the IP to saute, dissolve the corn or tapioca starch in the cold water and add to the sauce. Stir until desired thickness is reached. If this is a freezer meal, add right to the IP FROZEN - yes, frozen - and increase the cooking time to 15 minutes.
Remember how I said I doubled this to make one dinner and one freezer meal? I'm going to make it simple for you and double it right here.
Doubled Recipe
3 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, divided
1 cup honey
1 cup liquid aminos (soy sauce works if you aren't gluten free)
1/2c brown rice vinegar
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2T onion powder
2T ginger
1/2t pepper
6T corn or tapioca starch, reserved
1/2c cold water, reserved
Optional: sesame seeds, green onions, cilantro, and/or sriracha for garnish
Cover the bottom of your crock pot with half the chicken, then place the other half in a freezer bag. In a mixing bowl, blender or bullet add in the honey, aminos, vinegar, garlic, onion powder, ginger and pepper. I used a stick blender to blend mine until well mixed and the garlic was pulverized. Then divide in two! Half goes right in the crock pot, the other half goes in your freezer bag right on top of the chicken to store. Or you can bag up two separate freezer meals to store for later! Entirely up to you.
UPDATE!! Cook this in the Instant Pot in MINUTES! Add all but reserved ingredients to your Instant Pot, lock the lid and turn the valve. Press Manual, lower the time to 7 minutes. Do a quick pressure release and pull your thighs out to shred. Turn the IP to saute, dissolve the corn or tapioca starch in the cold water and add to the sauce. Stir until desired thickness is reached. If this is a freezer meal, add right to the IP FROZEN - yes, frozen - and increase the cooking time to 15 minutes.
Freezer meal tips:
- Label your bag before you fill it, plus write any ingredients or instructions needed later right on the bag.
- Green onions chopped and frozen in a freezer bag make this so easy and convenient! They thaw in seconds when thrown into or on top of a hot dish. Chop them all and freeze some for later. They break apart easily when frozen, so no need to freeze on trays first. Just throw them in a bag.
- Cilantro doesn't freeze well without getting soggy. It tastes fine but isn't pretty or crisp. I usually snip fresh right off my Tower Garden to use immediately.
- Thaw overnight and follow the above cooking instructions. To cook from frozen add an extra 1-2 hours to your cooking time OR if you're nearby to adjust it turn it to high for the first hour, then switch to low.