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Sesame Chicken
Homemade Chinese Sesame Chicken made with crispy fried chicken covered in a sweet and sour sauce. The ultimate sesame chicken recipe is way better than take-out.
My family goes crazy for Chinese food. But as a Mom, I wonder what in the world is actually in the sesame chicken you find in the drive-thru or in the mall food court. So I decided to create my own Asian recipes at home that are better than take-out!
My CHINESE ORANGE CHICKEN RECIPE is one of my most popular recipes on Modern Honey. It has been such a huge hit so I thought it was time to create a homemade Sesame Chicken recipe. It is such a hit in our home!
This sauce has the perfect balance of sweetness with a touch of sour from the rice vinegar. It has the right amount of sweet honey which creates the perfect coating to the chicken.
This Chinese Sesame Chicken is made with boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces, dredged, and then fried until golden and crispy. The sweet and sour sauce is divine! It is a little spicy and a whole lotta sweet. It is made with honey, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, ketchup, ginger, and red chili flakes. It is heavenly!
HOW TO MAKE CHINESE SESAME CHICKEN AT HOME:
- Start with boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs. Cut into bite-size pieces. Dredge the chicken in whisked eggs and cornstarch/flour mixture until nice and coated. Make sure to add salt to the flour mixture to bring flavor to the chicken. Get these chicken pieces ready for the oil.
- To make your homemade sesame sauce, place honey, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, ketchup, ginger, and red chili flakes in a small pot and cook over medium-high heat. Add cornstarch and water and cook until thickened. Add more red chili flakes if you like it spicier!
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When frying foods, it is so helpful to use a thermometer. Let the oil heat up to 350 degrees. Once the oil is ready, in batches, cook chicken for about 2 minutes until light golden brown. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Toss fried chicken with the sweet and sour sesame sauce. Top with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve immediately.
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Chinese Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (cut into bite-size pieces)
- 3 large Eggs
- 1/3 cup Flour
- 1/3 cup Cornstarch
- Salt
- Oil (for frying)
Sesame Sauce:
- 1/2 cup Honey
- 3 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar (or golden brown sugar)
- 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
- 1/4 cup Ketchup
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Ginger Powder
- 2 teaspoons Cornstarch
Garnish:
- 3 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds
- Green Onions (green parts sliced)
- Rice
Instructions
To make Chicken:
- Place flour and cornstarch in a shallow dish or pie plate. Add a hefty pinch of salt. Stir.
- Whisk eggs in a shallow dish.Dip chicken pieces in the egg mixture and then flour mixture. Place on the plate.
- Heat 2 -3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Using a thermometer, watch for it to reach 350 degrees. Working in batches, cook several chicken pieces at a time. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, turning often until golden brown. *May need longer depending on temperature of the oil.
- Place chicken on a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat.
Sesame Sweet and Sour Sauce:
- In a medium pot, add honey, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, ginger, garlic, and red chili flakes. Heat for 3 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch with 1 Tablespoon of water to form a paste. Add to sesame sauce and whisk together. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken. Once the sauce is thickened, remove from heat and toss with fried chicken.
- You may reserve some of the sauce to place on rice. Serve it with sesame seeds and a sprinkling of green onions.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you for your recipes. What type of oil do you use for frying when making the Sesame Chicken and Orange Chicken on your blog?
Also, do you have a cooking thermometer you can recommend?
Thank you. I’m newer to Asian style cooking.
Canola oil is a neutral oil good for deep frying. I use a Thermapen instant read thermometer to check the oil temperature.
Made the orange chicken and it was a hit ! Do you happen to have a general Tso recipe, thank you
made this last night. Directions were simple and it came out very good! Added some jasmine rice and iceberg lettuce as a base and topped with green onions and homemade yum-yum sauce. Everyone enjoyed it!
When making the sauce. Do you boil it? Higher heat? Simmer it?. Medium heat? Or just heat it up?! For 3 minutes before adding paste and (cooking) 5 more minutes. Very incomplete instructions. Times and temperature is helpful to me. Thanks.
Debbie, the directions are pretty straight forward as far as cooking the sauce. It doesn’t tell you to boil it. Perhaps you could ask your parents for some help when making new recipes.
The best dinner ever! Way better than take-out!