Chinese Almond Chicken

This is by far my favorite recipe to date!!! I absolutely love Chinese food and it is one thing we don't get very often. DID YOU KNOW LIQUID AMINO ACIDS TASTE EXACTLY LIKE SOY SAUCE?!?!?! I am not lying. Exactly and it is oh so much better for you. I was so excited when I discovered it! I have heard a number of food peeps on TV talk about it and figured I would give it a whirl. I made this for my family tonight and we all devoured it! Nahum wouldn't eat the pea pods so I had to open em all up so he could eat the peas out of the middle, but other than that we all enjoyed it. If you like Chinese food, you have to make this! Also, there will be a number of notes/tips on this recipe so check those out at the end of this post.

Ingredients

1 lb Chicken breast
1/4 C Slivered Almonds Toasted
1 Tbs Sesame Oil
2 Tbs White Wine Vinegar
1/4 C Chopped Fresh Cilantro
1/4  C Sesame Seeds
2 Shallots Thinly Sliced
Heavy Handful of Sugar Snap Peas
4 Tbs Liquid Amino Acids*
1/2 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 Tsp Pepper
2 Tsp Fresh Grated Ginger**
2 Md Cloves Garlic Minced
1/2 C Dry Himalayan Whole Grains***
1/2 C Dry Brown Rice***
2 1/4 C Water

Directions

Toast whole grains and brown rice in a dry skillet on md/high heat until there is a slight change in color.(3-5min) pour into sauce pan with the water. Bring to a boil and then cut down to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 40-50 min.
In an electric or stove top wok put sesame oil, amino acids and vinegar. Turn on to 350 degrees on electric and md/high on stove top. Add chicken, shallots, garlic, ginger, pepper and crushed red pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked and shallots are caramelizing. While chicken is cooking, in the same pan you toasted the rice, toast the almonds over md/high heat until they lightly brown, shaking the skillet every 30 seconds or so. Dump into a bowl and set aside.Toast the sesame seed the same way, but watch them closely they can burn easily and take a fraction of the time. Now, add the peas and the almonds to the stir fry and cook till peas are heated through. Do not over cook they will get wilty.
Serve over the rice/whole grain mixture and top with the sesame seeds and chopped cilantro.

* You can find this at Neighbors Country Market in New Paris and Meijer.
** When you buy fresh ginger you never use all of it at once. A good trick is to only peel the part you will grate, grate what you need, and then put the rest in a zip lock bag in the freezer. It keeps it fresh and when you need it again all you need to do is take it out and use it, you can peel and grate it frozen easily.
*** The whole grains and brown rice have the same cook time, so it is very easy to use them together. The water to grain ratio is slightly different, so I use an amount in between the two. (One uses 2C water one uses 2 1/2C, so I use 2 1/4C.)