Sesame Chicken

Sweet & Savory Sesame Chicken is a crowd pleaser served over rice or noodles. It’s perfect for dinner and better than takeout!!

This Asian chicken recipe has a little bit of sweet, and a little bit of savory flavor to it—similar to our Orange Chicken, and Sweet and Sour Pork. This dish is a dinner recipe everyone enjoys!

Sweet, savory, And so good!

One of my favorite dishes is Honey Sesame Chicken. It has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember! It has the most tender and flavorful chicken.

I’d have to say that today’s recipe along with Teriyaki Chicken are my all-time favorites. There’s a bit of sweetness and a whole bunch of delicious-ness that can’t be beat!

The entire family LOVED this recipe and have already requested it again. I don’t blame them, because it tastes amazing and is simple to make.

Like many Asian-American dishes, the sauce is sweet, salty and very flavorful and we love to serve it with Cauliflower Rice or Fried Rice.

How to make Sesame Chicken

CHICKEN. Cut your chicken breasts into bite size pieces. Put chicken, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar in a bag and marinate for 1-2 hours then drain chicken.

PREP. Add vegetable oil to a shallow pan on medium heat. Mix cornstarch, flour, salt and pepper in a large Ziploc bag.

FRY. In 3 batches, add chicken to flour mixture, shake gently to coat, and then toss in your frying pan until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

SESAME CHICKEN SAUCE: Mix honey, oyster sauce, chili sauce, ketchup, soy sauce and water in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil then simmer until sauce begins to thicken.

COMBINE + SERVE! Pour sauce over chicken pieces and toss. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Tips and substitutions:

• Rice Vinegar: You can easily substitute with Cider Vinegar or lemon juice.
• Sugar: Either white sugar or brown sugar works well for this recipe.
• Mix the sauce in advance (store in the fridge for up to 2 days)s
• Use the right oil temperature: Keep the oil around 350 degrees F. If the oil is too cold, then the chicken will become too greasy. If the oil is too hot, the outside will burn before the chicken is cooked through.
• Slightly healthier version: Skip the coating and sauté chicken breast pieces in a bit of oil, then proceed with the sauce as directed.

MAKE IT EXTRA CRISPY:

You’ll get some crisp by sautéing the coated chicken. If you want a crisper coating try doubling the coating. Remove the chicken from the marinade and toss the pieces in cornstarch.

Add second coating by either dipping in the marinade again or mix an egg in a separate bowl to dip then toss in corn starch a second time. Cook until golden brown.

Serving + Storing

Here are some of our favorite things to serve with sesame chicken:

• brown rice
• fried rice
• cauliflower rice
• quinoa
• garlic noodles
• zucchini noodles
• steamed white rice

Can’t go wrong with serving this dish with any of these sides. They’re all so good!

Make sesame chicken into a freezer meal: Cook chicken and sauce according to directions. Let cool and place in separate airtight freezer containers. Freeze both for up to 4 months.

When you’re ready to use thaw chicken and sauce in the refrigerator. Reheat the chicken in a saute pan with a little oil. Heat the sauce up in a saucepan on the stove. Once they are both warm pour the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve

Reheat sesame chicken: If you are in a hurry you can reheat the honey sesame chicken in the microwave in 30 second increments stirring in between. For a better leftover flavor reheat in a reheat in a sauté pan with a little oil.

For more asian chicken recipes, check out:

• Lemon Chicken
• Crock Pot Cashew Chicken
• Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Chicken Stir Fry
• Kung Pao Chicken
• Crockpot Orange Chicken

Sesame Chicken Recipe

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4.91 from 22 votes

Sweet & Savory Sesame Chicken is a crowd pleaser served over rice or noodles. It's perfect for dinner and better than takeout!!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes minutes

Marinate 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 18 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 298 kcal

Author Lil’ Luna

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 chicken breast cubed
• ▢ 2 tbsp lower sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• ▢ 1 tbsp sesame seed oil
• ▢ 2 tsp sugar
• ▢ 3 tbsp cornstarch
• ▢ 6 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp pepper
• ▢ vegetable oil for cooking

Sauce

• ▢ 2 tbsp honey
• ▢ 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• ▢ 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
• ▢ 4 tbsp ketchup
• ▢ 4 tbsp lower sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 1/2 cup water
• ▢ sesame seeds toasted

Instructions

 

• Cut your chicken breasts into bite size pieces.
• Put chicken, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar in a bag and marinate for 1-2 hours then drain chicken.
• Add vegetable oil to a shallow pan on medium heat.
• Mix cornstarch, flour, salt and pepper in a large ziploc bag.
• In 3 batches, add chicken to flour mixture, shake gently to coat, and then toss in your frying pan until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Sauce

• Mix honey, oyster sauce, chili sauce, ketchup, soy sauce and water in a medium sauce pan.
• Bring to a boil then simmer until sauce begins to thicken.
• Pour sauce over chicken pieces and toss.
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Video

Nutrition Facts

Sesame Chicken Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 298 Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Fat 6g9%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 96mg32%

Sodium 1421mg62%

Potassium 629mg18%

Carbohydrates 24g8%

Sugar 12g13%

Protein 33g66%

Vitamin A 105IU2%

Vitamin C 2.3mg3%

Calcium 13mg1%

Iron 1.3mg7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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