Crock-Pot Honey Garlic Chicken

Crush the garlic and grate the ginger. In a jug, whisk the honey, soy sauce, tomato purée, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes until smooth.

Pat the chicken thighs dry and lay them in the slow cooker in one slightly overlapping layer. Pour the sauce over and turn the thighs once to coat them. Do not add water, because the thighs release plenty of liquid as they cook and the sauce is reduced at the end.

Cover and cook on low for 3½ to 4½ hours, or on high for 2 to 2½ hours, until the thighs are tender enough to pull apart with a fork and read 75°C in the thickest part. Boneless thighs tolerate a long cook, but beyond about 5 hours on low they turn dry and stringy, so start checking at 3½ hours.

Lift the chicken onto a plate and cover it loosely with foil. Skim the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid with a spoon, then pour the liquid into a small saucepan and bring it to a steady simmer over a medium heat.

Stir the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of cold water until smooth, then stir it into the simmering liquid. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until the sauce is glossy and coats the back of a spoon. Thickening in a pan gives a smooth result, whereas cornflour added straight to the cooker can turn grainy. Taste it: it should be sweet first and salty after, and a splash of rice vinegar will sharpen it if it is too sweet.

Return the chicken to the sauce, break the thighs into large pieces or leave them whole, and turn to glaze. Slice the spring onions, scatter them over with the sesame seeds, and serve with steamed rice or mashed potato and a green vegetable such as broccoli.