Sesame Chicken is a delicious weeknight meal! Crispy bite-sized pieces of chicken are tossed in a sweet and savoury sesame sauce to make the perfect bite.
“My daughter came home the other night requesting sesame chicken this is the first recipe I clicked on and it was AMAZING! The whole family loved it, even my husband who isn’t the biggest chicken fan and I will be making it again!“
Keri
/
Sep. 23, 2024
Recipe Rundown
Taste
This sesame chicken is perfectly sweet, savory, and sticky. A good amount of sesame oil completes the dish with its toasty, nutty flavors.
Texture
Double frying and using cornstarch as the coating gives the chicken a light and crispy exterior, even when tossed in the sticky sesame sauce.
Protein
Both dark meat (chicken thighs) and white meat (chicken breasts) work perfect for this recipe. They’ll both taste delicious either way!
Quick Tips
The secret to ensuring your chicken remains crispy even after tossing with the sauce is double-frying. Any neutral oil such as corn, vegetable, or canola can work for frying.
Watch the Sesame Chicken Recipe Video Below!
Welcome back to Part 3 of our Classic Takeout series. So far, we’ve made Orange Chicken and Beijing Beef, and after so many requests, I’ve finally come up with this recipe for Sesame Chicken.
You can find this in many American-Chinese food chains (think Panda Express or Manchu Wok). I always get torn with all the choices, but this has to be within my top three of Chinese takeout meals.
While similar in tastes, orange chicken varies greatly in terms of what makes up their sauce. Orange chicken, uses a generous amount of orange juice in its sauce to give it a signature tang and citrus taste.
Sesame chicken, on the other hand, is slightly sweeter, with a more nutty/toasty flavor due to a greater addition of sesame oil and sesame seeds.
What is Sesame Chicken?
If you’re unfamiliar, Sesame Chicken is a delicious Chinese-American classic. Bite-sized pieces of chicken are coated in a light batter, fried until golden crispy, and tossed in a sticky, sweet, and savory sauce.
Thanks to the sesame oil and sesame seeds sprinkled on top, the chicken takes on a toasty flavor that’s absolutely heavenly, especially when paired with freshly steamed veggies and fried rice.
Ingredients (and substitutions!)
Chicken: The best cut of chicken to use is dark, tender chicken thighs. You could also use chicken breasts if you prefer.
- Substitutions: While this recipe highlights chicken, this would also work with either thinly-sliced beef or pork as quick alternatives. You can try using any plant-based ingredient such as extra-firm tofu, tempeh, or even mushrooms in place of chicken for my vegetarian/vegan audience!
Cornstarch, Flour: A combination of both cornstarch and flour are my secret to a crispy fried batter. Cornstarch provides a lighter crisp while a bit of flour gives the coating some thickness to stand up to stir frying.
- Substitutions: Tapioca or potato starch may work as quick replacements for cornstarch. If you only have flour available, you can omit the starch entirely and just substitute the flour with an equal amount (doing so won’t affect the taste, though the texture of the chicken might be more heavy and thick, as opposed to being light and crisp).
Egg white: Using only the egg whites contributes to the overall crisp due to its high protein volume. Yolk, which is high in fat, tends to create a more tender crust when deep fried (feel free to repurpose the yolk for other uses).
Soy sauce: As a base in many Asian recipes, soy sauce provides the much-needed savoriness and umami flavor to our Sesame Chicken.
Honey, brown sugar: A mix of honey and brown sugar creates a complex sweetness and is essential in balancing out all those savory and tangy notes from the other ingredients.
- Substitutions: Feel free to use white sugar or rock sugar as substitutes.
Ketchup, rice vinegar: Ketchup and rice vinegar provides an acidic brightness that keeps the dish from tasting flat.
- Substitutions: If you’re not a fan of ketchup, it can be omitted without altering the taste of the sauce too much. Rice vinegar may be substituted with white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Shaoxing wine: Also known as Chinese cooking wine, this adds depth to sauces by lending it savoriness and a mild saltiness.
- Substitutions: Shaoxing wine may be omitted entirely or substituted with any dry white wine or Japanese sake.
Sesame oil, sesame seeds: You can’t make sesame chicken without the sesame! The oil gives the sauce a delicious, nutty, aroma.
Instructions
Prepare the batter by combining all the ingredients together in a bowl until you have a smooth, paint-like batter consistency (add more water if too thick).
Add in the chicken and gently mix to ensure the chicken pieces are well coated with the batter.
Deep fry the coated chicken pieces (~330-340 F) for about 5-7 minutes, or until fully cooked through and golden.
Double fry (optional, but highly recommended): Turn the heat to high, and fry the chicken for a second time (~375 F) for 30-60 seconds until golden brown and crispy. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.
In a separate bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the sesame sauce until smooth.
Pour the sauce into a large pan or wok and bring to a boil for about 1-2 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
Once thickened, add in the fried chicken pieces, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Gently toss until the chicken is fully coated in the sauce.
Top with green onions. Enjoy with a side of rice and fresh veggies!
Cooking Tips
Don’t overcook your sauce: Boiling the sauce for 1-2 minutes essentially reduces it down into a sticky glaze, making it glossy and thick enough to coat the chicken. Going past this point (usually signalled by the smell of burning sugar), can make the sauce too thick, too sticky, and bitter.
*If this happens, I’d recommend to just toss the sauce and restart -it’s not worth coating your glorious fried chicken in it. However, if you do find that your sauce is reducing a bit too fast, you can either reduce your heat, or add a splash of hot water to dilute the mixture and let it reduce again.
Drizzle in the sesame oil last: Sesame oil is almost always added at the final moments of cooking to retain its bold flavor and aroma. By doing this simple step, you’re able to actually taste the toastiness of the sesame oil in the foreground, as opposed to it being muted in flavor.
Only briefly toss the chicken in the sauce: 15-30 seconds is all you’ll need to quickly toss the chicken in the sesame sauce. If you overdo it, your crispy chicken may risk getting soggy due to the steam and heat produced in the pan.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Can I make this spicy?
Yes! To make a spicy version of sesame chicken, simply add about a teaspoon or two of chili flakes, chili oil, sriracha, or sambal into the sauce and mix well. You may also use freshly chopped Thai chilies for a stronger kick.
What vegetables can I eat this with?
Veggies can help to cut the richness of the dish and to make it a more complete and filling meal. Feel free to go takeaway-style by pairing this with stir fried greens like broccoli, cabbage, and/or zucchini.
You could also add chopped veggies directly into the stir-fry, such as carrots, bell peppers, and celery.
How do I prepare this in advance?
To make this ahead of time, I’d recommend keeping the sauce and cooked chicken separate from each other to prevent the chicken from getting soggy.
To warm, you can reheat the chicken by briefly re-frying it to crisp the outside, or reheat via the oven or air fryer for a couple minutes at around 350 F. Once warm, you can toss it with the sauce and serve!
How do I store leftovers?
Leftover sesame chicken can stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days stored in an airtight container. These are perfect for meal-prepping as well, just note that the texture may not be as crispy as freshly cooked.
Freezing these are also possible, though the texture of the coating may get soggy and/or soften overtime.
If you loved this recipe, check out these other trending recipes:
- Orange Chicken
- Beijing Beef
- Hong Shao Rou (Red Braised Pork Belly)
- Sinangag (Filipino Garlic Fried Rice)
Sesame Chicken
Course: MainCuisine: Chinese3-4
servingsSesame Chicken is a delicious weeknight meal! Crispy bite-sized pieces of chicken are tossed in a sweet and savoury sesame sauce to make the perfect bite.
Keep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
~450 g chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1.5 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 green onion, chopped
- Batter
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 egg white
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/3 cup water
- Sesame Sauce
3 tbsp honey, to taste
2 tbsp soy sauce
1.5 tbsp ketchup
1.5 tbsp brown sugar, to taste
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp shaoxing wine 1
1 clove garlic, grated
Directions
- Prepare the batter by combining all the ingredients together in a bowl until you have a smooth, paint-like batter consistency (add more water if too thick).
- Add in the chicken and gently mix to ensure the chicken pieces are well coated with the batter.
- Deep fry the coated chicken pieces (~330-340 F) for about 5-7 minutes, or until fully cooked through and golden.Â
Double fry (optional, but highly recommended): Turn the heat to high, and fry the chicken for a second time (~375 F) for 30-60 seconds until golden brown and crispy. Set aside to cool on a wire rack. - In a separate bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the sesame sauce until smooth 2.
- Pour the sauce into a large pan or wok and bring to a boil for about 1-2 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
- Once thickened, add in the fried chicken pieces, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Gently toss until the chicken is fully coated in the sauce.
- Top with green onions. Enjoy with a side of rice and fresh veggies!
Notes
- 1. If you’re worried about alcohol content, don’t worry, since the alcohol also tends to cook off right away as we’re stir-frying the dish and reducing the sauce. Feel free to omit this ingredient altogether if you’d like.
- 2. You can adjust the sauce to taste before you toss it with the chicken. Some may prefer their sesame sauce to be less sweet, so you can choose to add lesser amounts of honey and/or brown sugar if you prefer.
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Best recipe I have ever used the flavouring is perfect and not overpowering
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Do you know I am never going for takeout again! You did yo thang on that one. I did both chicken and shrimp. I would send you a picture but…. Thank you. This is excellent.
Hi Washington! Thanks for trying out the recipe, great idea with using shrimp for this as well!
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Great idea with the double fry…delicious sauce.
Amazing recipe, definitely a keeper in my house.
Thank you
This recipe is the best!
I however had to make some substitutions with a few ingredients I didn’t have in my kitchen. I use this sauce for EVERYTHING! To marinate and cook short ribs as well. Delicious.
One of the best things I’ve cooked, insanely good flavor and crisp with the batter. I recommend frying it slightly longer if you’re a mega crispy fan like I am!
I appreciate the review, Cedar! I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
My daughter came home the other night requesting sesame chicken this is the first recipe I clicked on and it was AMAZING! The whole family loved it, even my husband who isn’t the biggest chicken fan and I will be making it again!
Hi Keri,
I’m so glad your family enjoyed it, including your husband! I hope your future batches are equally as enjoyable, happy cooking 🙂
Fantastic tried this out and loved it!
Fantastic tried this out and my kids loved it!
Hi Luca, so great to hear everyone enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
I’m in shock at how good this recipe is. I’ve ordered sesame chicken or shrimp that’s so many restaurants, and this is better than all of them. I used shrimp because it was all I had, and it all came together in less than 15 minutes. So crispy! So flavorful!!
Hi Giannina, shrimp sounds excellent in this dish! Thanks for trying the recipe 🙂
Usually my first attempts are not that great but this looked like the real thing and tasted amazing! Not too sweet, not too spicy. Everything was right.
Healthy option: put tallow on the pan to sheer and then put it in the air fryer.
Didn’t have the rice vinegar but substituted it for lemon (1/2 the amount).
Didn’t have wine, but will try to have that next time. Thanks for everything Ian!
Thanks for giving it a try and so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Love all the pointers/substitutions 🙂
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