Sesame Chicken is a quick and easy Asian Chicken Recipe where you have crispy chicken tossed in a sticky Honey Sesame Sauce. One of the most popular Asian Takeaways can now be re-created right at the comfort of your home. Also, have you tried General Tso's Chicken (the Most Popular American-Chinese recipe), Orange Chicken (needs no further introduction), Mandarin Teriyaki Chicken (just like PF Chang's), Asian Cashew Chicken (cashew pairs so well with chicken), or Asian Chili Chicken (a beautiful combination of sweet and sour), Mongolian Chicken (best dish after Mongolian beef), Thai Peanut Chicken (Peanut butter chicken with toasted peanuts), or Sweet Chili Chicken (The Thai Sweet Chili Sauce is so good)
Served with Jasmine rice and some steamed broccoli this chicken dish will not leave room for any leftovers.
How to Make Sesame Chicken like a Chinese Restaurant from scratch?
Dipping Chicken in Batter:
This recipe works best with Chicken Breasts. Each Chicken piece is coated in egg, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. And then it is again dredged through a mixture of flour, cornstarch, and paprika.
Deep Frying Chicken:
In a pan heat about 3-inches of oil. As the oil reaches a temperature of 350F, place at least 6-7 chicken pieces at once. Do not add all the chicken pieces in one batch. Do it in several batches. This will help you cook your Chicken evenly.
Making the Sesame Chicken Sauce:
The sauce is pretty simple. And, people have always wondered what is the secret behind this sauce? Why does it taste so good? Well, I am gonna tell you an easy way in case you are wondering, how to make honey sesame chicken sauce. So, just combine Sesame Oil (you can use Toasted Sesame Oil as well), chopped Ginger, minced Garlic, Honey, Ketchup, Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Brown Sugar, and Cornstarch.
And, that's it. Your Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe is absolutely ready. Just serve it over white rice and garnish with Sesame Seeds, and chopped Green Onions.
Things to Keep in Mind while Making Light Honey Sesame Chicken:
- Oil shouldn't be too hot: If your Oil is too hot then your chicken will get overly browned on the outside and will not be cooked through.
- Oil shouldn't be too cold: If the oil is too cold then your chicken will soak up more oil to get fried.
- Don't add too much cornstarch: Adding too much cornstarch will make your Sauce seize up quickly. You certainly do not want that.
- Don't Add too many chicken cubes at once: Overcrowding the pan with Chicken is one of the worst mistakes you can make while making Honey Soy Sesame Chicken. Fry the chicken in batches. This will ensure even coating from all sides.
Is there any difference between Sesame Chicken and General Tso's chicken?
This has been a raging confusion for a long time. Let me try and put some light into it.
Sesame Chicken: As the name suggests, Sesame Chicken has Sesame Seeds and is made with Sesame Oil. It has a sweet and salty taste. Basically, it's the sesame oil that creates that brilliant nutty taste in Sesame Chicken.
General Tso's Chicken has a deep sweet taste which is equally hot. General Tso's Chicken has a reddish gravy while Sesame Chicken has a brownish gravy. In General Tso's Chicken, there is a distinct taste of Hoisin Sauce - a sweet sauce - that makes this North American-Chinese Chicken recipe a little sweet.
Is Sweet and Sour Chicken the same as Sesame Chicken?
When two things are similar they are often misunderstood to be the same. This is the case with Sweet and Sour Chicken and Sesame Chicken. Sesame Chicken uses Sesame Oil. Whereas, Sweet and Sour Chicken use canola oil for frying.
Is Sesame Chicken packed with Calories?
The general notion about Sesame Chicken is - since it's sweet it is packed with calories. Last week I saw a magazine say that Sesame Chicken has 2000 calories. Well, this is so not true. When we talk about Calories in Sesame Chicken, we can think about Chicken, the breading, and that thick sauce. All of these are loaded with calories but not 2000 calories. One serving of Sesame chicken has about 280 calories.
Other Recipes you can try:
- Sticky and Spicy Korean Chicken Wings
- Easy Sheet Pan Harissa Chicken Recipe (step by step photo) + video
- Coca Cola Chicken Recipe
- Firecracker Chicken Meatballs in Air Fryer
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Sesame Chicken (Like a Chinese Restaurant)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts cut into small 1-inch cubes
For Egg Mixture
- 1 Large Egg beaten
- 1 Teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- Salt and Pepper as per taste
- Oil for deep frying Chicken
For Flour Mixture
- 1 Tablespoon Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
For Sticky Honey Sesame Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 2-3 cloves minced Garlic
- ½ inch Ginger chopped
- ¼ Cup Honey
- ½ Cup Ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Rice Vinegar
- 1½ tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
- chopped green onions for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a bowl, place the Egg, Cornstarch, Garlic Powder, Salt & Pepper. Stir to combine.
- In a bowl, whisk together AP Flour, Smoked Paprika, and Cornstarch.
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan. As the Oil gets hot, Dip the Boneless, Skinless Chicken pieces first in the egg mixture and then toss them in the flour mixture. Fry the Chicken pieces in batches. Do not crowd the Pan, fry about 6-7 pieces of Chicken at once. Fry for 5-6 minutes, rotating midway until it gets crispy and golden brown on both sides. Drain the chicken on a paper towel.
- Make the Sauce by combining Ginger, Garlic, Honey, Ketchup, Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Sesame Oil, Brown Sugar, and Cornstarch.
- In the same pan, where you fried the chicken, pour in the sauce and cook it over medium-high heat until it starts to boil. As the Sauce comes to a slow boil, add the crispy chicken pieces. Toss to combine with the sauce. Serve with sesame seeds and chopped green onions on top.
Video
Notes
- You can make the sauce up to two days ahead of time use it later.
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