Hi Natty! How's quarantine? Oh, are you still busy? Yeah, the Internet is a busy place. Many people go without sleep, it's a sign of the times. It's been a hectic day for me. It's laundry day, so I got up early to do my laundry but there was a queue for the washer. So while I was waiting for that, I did my usual daily chores like cleaning up after cats, collecting water, making my coffee and tea, etc. My mother wanted me to go to the grocer to get her some flat noodles and scallions, so when the washer was available I dumped my clothes in there, started the machine and drove off to the grocer on my motorcycle. While I was there, I got more green hot chilli peppers. The green beans looked good, so I got some of that. I made a batch of dough when I was waiting for my wash, and my Mom gave me some old honey which had crystallized. Apple blossom honey. Not bad for a generic brand. Chinese, of course. Since it was turning solid, it could only be used for cooking. I had a chicken breast which I defrosted for dinner today, plus the chilli bean paste I made yesterday. It's actually chilli bean oil, but since I blended the soybeans and chillies in oil not water, it turned into a paste. I marinated the chicken breast in the honey, then heated up a little oil in a pan. The oil has to be hot, so I used a medium flame (I rarely go past medium fire). When hot enough, I fried the chicken. The purpose is to caramelize the honey and turn the outside of the chicken breast almost black, but the inside is still raw. I took out the chicken, turned down the heat, then sautéed diced green beans with a few green hot chilli peppers in 3 tablespoons of my chilli bean oil. Not too long! The beans must keep their snap! Then I put the chicken back in after dicing it, and cooked it until the raw was gone. Done! It was a success. Alhamdulillah. I enjoyed it with small tortillas.
I Googled "Honey braised chicken with green beans sautéed in chilli bean oil", and this is what I got. Well, this is the closest to what I made. I didn't use sesame seeds, though. Could have, but didn't. My chicken had darker crust, and my sauce was thicker, but as usual, I was too lazy to take a snapshot.
