Sweet Chili Lime Chicken with Cilantro Couscous

A very flavorful Asian-type meal with a sweet heat that incorporates my favorite flavors (chili, lime, and cilantro) with a little bit of sugar. The sauce glazes the chicken and is wonderful over the cilantro couscous. You can substitute salt and pepper to taste for MSG.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 30 mins
• Calories: 380 Calories

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup couscous
• 6 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 lime, juiced and zested
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
• ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
• 1 pinch monosodium glutamate (such as Ac'cent®), or to taste
• 4 wedges lime for garnish

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir chicken breast cubes in the hot oil until the juices run clear and chicken is no longer pink inside, 5 to 6 minutes. Sprinkle chicken with monosodium glutamate as it cooks. Remove chicken from skillet.

Step 2

Mix soy sauce, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, lime juice, and lime zest in a bowl, stirring to dissolve sugar. Pour sauce into hot skillet, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce begins to reduce slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Mix cooked chicken into sauce and cook until sauce forms a glaze on chicken pieces, about 2 to 3 more minutes, stirring often.

Step 3

Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan. Stir couscous into vegetable broth, turn off the heat, and let couscous stand until broth is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Stir cilantro into couscous.

Step 4

Arrange couscous onto a serving platter, top with chicken and sauce, and serve with lime wedges. Squeeze lime wedges over couscous and chicken before serving.