Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken Sliders

Slow Cooker Sunday is going strong!  (Probably since I’m off for the summer…so much more gets accomplished when I don’t have to go to work!)

This dinner made the whole house smell *amazing* for the almost 7 hours that it cooked.  And, (as usual) the chicken was super moist and tender.  The sauce was awesome…it’s what I envision an Asian BBQ sauce to taste like.  I made a rainbow slaw to top the sandwiches (that recipe will be up in a couple of days).  It added the perfect crisp to the sandwiches.  My inspiration for both recipes came from here (via Pinterest of course!).  I used about 2.5 pounds of chicken, so I doubled the sauce ingredients.

• Start with a large package of chicken breasts.  (Again, mine was 2.5 pounds.)

• Season with s&p.

• Place in the slow cooker.

Next, make the sauce…

• Start by pouring 1 cup of honey into a large bowl.

• Add 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar.

• Add 1 cup of chicken broth.

• Pour in 1/4 cup soy sauce.

• Add 5 tablespoons of tomato paste.

• Add 2 teaspoons of chili paste.  (Next time, I might add more.  There wasn’t much heat.)

• Mince up some garlic (about 4 cloves) and add it to the bowl.

• Grate some ginger into the bowl using a microplane.  (I grated about a 1 inch piece.)

• Whisk until smooth.

• Pour the sauce over the chicken.

• Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  (I cooked it for 6.5 hours.  You could also cook it on high for 3-4 hours.)

• When the slow cooker is finished, remove the chicken to a large bowl and shred it using two forks.

• Get out a few more ingredients to finish the sauce.

• Pour the sauce from the slow cooker into a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

• In a small bowl or a measuring cup, whisk 2 tablespoons cornstarch with two tablespoons chicken broth.

• Add the mixture to the sauce.

• Stir continuously until the sauce thickens.

• Remove from the heat and add 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil.

• Add some sesame seeds as well.

• Pour about 2/3 of the sauce over the shredded chicken.  (Reserve the rest to top the sandwiches.)

You can now assemble your sandwiches.  (I used whole wheat buns.)

Start with some rainbow slaw.  (Recipe coming soon!)

Add the chicken.

Top with some extra sauce.

I served the leftover three bean salad on the side.  What a great summer meal!

Enjoy!