Make Sesame Chicken

Sesame chicken is a Chinese-restaurant classic that can easily be replicated at home. You can make it restaurant-style in a crispy batter, or try a lighter, healthier version served with brown rice and veggies. Either way, you can provide friends and family with a delicious taste of the Orient without leaving your kitchen.

Ingredients

Restaurant-Style Sesame Chicken

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon chili paste (or red pepper flakes)
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 1/2cups cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 6 cups vegetable oil, for frying
  • Sesame seeds
  • Sliced Scallions

Easy Sesame Chicken

  • 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Lighter Sesame Chicken

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 thinly sliced scallions
  • 1 1/2 pounds large broccoli florets

Steps

Restaurant-Style Sesame Chicken

  1. Marinade the chicken. Prepare the marinade by combining the chicken stock, soy sauce, water, rice wine vinegar, honey, sesame oil, brown sugar, and cornstarch. Whisk everything together to form a smooth consistency. Separate six tablespoons of marinade from the rest of the mixture and toss with the prepared chicken breast pieces in a bowl. Place the coated chicken in a zip lock bag and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least half an hour. Set the rest of the marinade aside for now.
  2. Make the sauce. To make the sauce, fry up the garlic, ginger and chili paste in a large skillet with the tablespoon of sesame oil. After two minutes, stir in 2 cups of the marinade mixture and simmer over a medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sauce has thickened. Take the sauce off the heat and cover with a lid.
  3. Prepare the batter. Use a wire whisk to foam the egg whites, then in a separate dish, mix the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and leftover marinade.
  4. Heat the oil. Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or deep-fryer over a medium high-heat, until the temperature of the oil reaches {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}. Use a good instant-read thermometer to check the temperature of the oil.
  5. Batter the chicken. Remove the marinated chicken from the refrigerator and take it out of the zip lock bag. Remove any excess marinade with a little paper towel. Toss the chicken in the egg whites, then roll in the flour mixture until fully coated. You may need to do this in two batches.
  6. Fry the chicken. Split the chicken into two batches for frying. Add one batch of the battered chicken to the deep fryer or dutch oven and fry until crisp and golden brown, turning once. The chicken should be cooked through in about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the excess oil off the chicken by placing it on a plate lined with paper towel. As it drains, fry the second batch of chicken.
  7. Heat the sauce. Return the skillet containing the sauce to a medium heat. Once it begins to simmer, take it off the heat and toss in the fried chicken pieces until they're fully coated in the sauce.
  8. Serve. Serve the sesame chicken on a bed of white rice, topped with the toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions.

Easy Sesame Chicken

  1. Cook the chicken. Wash the chicken breasts, then cut into 1-inch chunks using a sharp knife. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces and fry for about 6 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
  2. Make the sauce. In a bowl, mix the honey, soy sauce, water, corn starch, ginger and red pepper flakes. Use a wire or electric whisk to ensure that there are no lumps of corn starch left in the sauce.
  3. Add the sauce to the chicken. Pour the sauce mixture into the skillet with the chicken. Stir to combine. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken, about 3-5 minutes. If the sauce becomes too thick, you can add a little water. Stir in the toasted sesame seeds, then cover the pan and leave to simmer for about ten minutes.
  4. Serve. Once the chicken has soaked up enough sauce, serve the sesame chicken on a bed of white rice.

Lighter Sesame Chicken

  1. Make the sauce. Mix the honey, garlic, soy sauce and sesame seeds together in a bowl. Set the sauce aside for now.
  2. Prepare the chicken. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy, then add the corn starch, mixing well to ensure that there are no lumps. Add the chicken to the corn starch mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Cook the chicken. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick skillet over a medium-high heat. Add half the chicken to the pan and cook, turning occasionally, for about 6 to 8 minutes. The chicken should be golden brown on the outside and white through the middle. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate to drain, the repeat the process with the remaining chicken and oil.
  4. Combine the chicken and sauce. Once all of the chicken has cooked, return it to the skillet and pour over the reserved sauce and chopped scallions. Toss everything together, making sure the chicken pieces are evenly covered in sauce.
  5. Steam the broccoli. Steam the broccoli in a steamer basket over a medium-high heat for about 6 minutes. You want it to be slightly crisp, rather than too soft.
  6. Serve. Serve the sesame chicken and steamed broccoli over a bed of brown rice.
  7. Finished.



Tips

  • If you prefer not to fry your chicken, you can bake it in the oven instead. This method takes slightly longer, but is healthier than frying the chicken in oil.

Warnings

  • Always use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked completely before serving.

Things You'll Need

  • Re-sealable plastic bag
  • Large and small bowls
  • Wire or electric whisk
  • Instant-read thermometer
  • Large non-stick skillet or Dutch oven
  • Saucepan and steamer basket
  • Paper towel

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Sources and Citations

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