Apricot Chik’n Topped with Sweet and Spicy Ginger

Do you get nostalgic on the holidays for your old favorite foods?  Those dishes Mom (or Dad!) used to make that just epitomized the holiday, the smells filling the house, the laughter around the table….  I know I do.  Recently I’ve had some long conversations (which will be the basis of a future blog post :) ) with my friend who’s trying a 30 day vegan experiment, all about shifting away from the traditional American idea of building your meal around protein (if you want more information now about why that’s unnecessary, check out my Protein Primer :) ).  However, even with that in mind, I had leftover kugel from my Rosh Hashanah meal, and I was just craving that traditional idea of the kugel alongside my mom’s apricot chicken with a nice salad and a glass of wine… holiday memories, ya know?  I also had just been given a bag of these Crystallized Candied Ginger pieces, and an idea was born.

This is one the easiest things I have made in recent memory, and one of the most perfectly delicious.  The sauce thickens and caramelizes beautifully, with the perfect balance of sweet and salty, and then the sweet ginger spiciness on top… nom.

To all my Jewish readers, Shana Tova u’metukah.  This will certainly help with the “metukah” part – as metukah means sweet.  :)  A sweet new year to you all, and to everyone else, a sweet back to school and end of summer.  This will be the perfect thing to take you into the cooler nights of fall.

So fancy, if I do say so myself.

Print Apricot Chik’n Topped with Sweet and Spicy Ginger

Recipe is for one individual serving, but simply multiply by as many servings as you would like to serve more than one person, making sure to keep a 2:1 ratio between the jam and the miso.

Ingredients

• 1 Gardein chik'n cutlet, or your favorite other plant-based cutlet
• 2 T apricot jam
• 1 T brown miso
• ~1 T water
• 4-5 pieces of crystallized candied ginger (Did you know you can find Trader Joe's items on Amazon?! So awesome!! Sorry, back to your regularly scheduled recipe.... :D )

Instructions

1. Heat a small amount of oil in pan over medium-high heat.
2. While pan is heating, mix jam, miso, and enough water to make a thick sauce - pourable, but not thin.
3. Also chop the candied ginger into thin strips at the same time, and put aside til the end.
4. Saute cutlet on the first side as directed, 2-3 minutes per side for Gardein, or following appropriate instructions if you have chosen a different type of cutlet.
5. When you flip the cutlet to the second side, pour 1/3 of the sauce over the top of the cutlet, taking care to keep the sauce on the cutlet and not spilling down onto the pan.
6. When the second side has completed cooking, turn the heat down to medium-low, flip the cutlet back over, and pour another 1/3 of the sauce over top of the second side. Cook for 30 seconds to allow to sauce to caramelize, and flip again, cooking for 30 more seconds, to allow the same on side #2.
7. Remove from heat immediately so that the sugars do not burn.
8. Plate immediately, flipping the cutlet one last time, and pouring the last 1/3 of the sauce over top. Sprinkle ginger pieces on top, and serve.
9. Enjoy!!

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Nom.

Shana Tova!