Sesame Chicken
Although we didn’t eat a lot of it in college, we've definitely made it up for lost time when it comes to our consumption of Chinese food. As much as we love the ease of ordering take-out, we've been trying to tackle some of our favorite menu items one at a time. So far, we've cooked up sweet and sour chicken, cashew chicken and General Tso’s Chicken, and we've loved each rendition. Next on our list was sesame chicken, but we were surprised that there weren’t more recipes available when we did some researching online. We absolutely adored the General Tso’s recipe we made last year, specifically how crisp the fried chicken was and how the overarching flavors carried through all of the recipe components. We decided to use that recipe as a template, while changing up the flavors to make a sesame version. The end result was fabulous – thick-coated, crisp chicken tossed a sesame-flavored sauce that had just the right amount of sweetness. Another from-scratch take-out success!
This recipe isn’t exactly a 30-minute meal – it takes a little bit of time and preparation, but if you have a few extra minutes, this sesame chicken is 100% worth it. We love how crisp the chicken is and that the sauce thickens beautifully to coat the chicken. It’s not too thin, but not gloopy either; just right. Toss the chicken on a bed of white rice and top with toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions, and you’ll be in dinner heaven. Trust us, you’ll want to hoard the leftovers (if there are any!) all to yourself.
We have a long list of take-out favorites that we can’t wait to recreate; what are some of your favorites?
One year ago: Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Sesame Chicken
Yield: 4 servings Sesame Chicken - Marinated, battered and fried, tossed in a sweet sesame sauce and served over white rice, sprinkled with sesame seeds and chopped scallions.For the Marinade:
- 1 cup (240 ml) chicken stock
- ½ cup (125 ml) water
- ½ cup (116 ml) soy sauce
- ¼ cup (84.75 ml) honey
- ¼ cup (63.75 ml) rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1½ pounds (680.39 g) boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
For the Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon chili paste, can substitute a couple pinches of red pepper flakes
For Coating & Frying:
- 3 egg whites
- 1½ cups (192 g) cornstarch
- ½ cup (62.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
- 6 cups (1.31 l) vegetable oil, for frying
- Sesame seeds, to garnish
- Scallions, sliced, to garnish
- To make the marinade, whisk the chicken stock, water, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, cornstarch and sesame oil in a bowl. Of this mixture, place 6 tablespoons into a zip lock storage bag and add the chicken; seal and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Set aside the remaining marinade in the bowl.
- While the chicken is chilling in the marinade, heat the 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Sauté the garlic, ginger and chile paste until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add 2 cups of the reserved marinade to the skillet and simmer, whisking constantly, until the mixture has become a darker brown and thickened. Remove from the heat and cover.
- To prepare the chicken for coating and frying, whisk the egg whites in a shallow dish until foamy; set aside. Combine the cornstarch, flour, baking soda, and remaining marinade in a second shallow dish; mix using a fork until it resembles coarse meal.
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and from the marinade. Pat the marinated chicken dry with paper towels.
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat until the oil registers 350 degrees.
- While the oil is heating, prepare the chicken for frying. Toss half the chicken into the foamy egg whites until well coated, then dredge the chicken in the cornstarch mixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer the coated chicken to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Fry half the chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning each piece halfway through cooking. Transfer the cooked chicken onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Return the oil to 350 degrees. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Warm the sauce over medium heat until simmering. Turn off the heat and add the fried chicken pieces. Toss to coat and serve, sprinkling with sesame seeds and chopped scallions.
Notes
Nutritional values are based on one serving
- Yield: 4 servings
- Prep: 45 minutes
- Cook: 15 minutes
- Total: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the Marinade:
- 1 cup ( 240 ml ) chicken stock
- ½ cup ( 125 ml ) water
- ½ cup ( 116 ml ) soy sauce
- ¼ cup ( 84.75 ml ) honey
- ¼ cup ( 63.75 ml ) rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1½ pounds ( 680.39 g ) boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
For the Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon chili paste, can substitute a couple pinches of red pepper flakes
For Coating & Frying:
- 3 egg whites
- 1½ cups ( 192 g ) cornstarch
- ½ cup ( 62.5 g ) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ( 0.5 teaspoon ) baking soda
- 6 cups ( 1.31 l ) vegetable oil, for frying
- Sesame seeds, to garnish
- Scallions, sliced, to garnish
Method
- To make the marinade, whisk the chicken stock, water, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, cornstarch and sesame oil in a bowl. Of this mixture, place 6 tablespoons into a zip lock storage bag and add the chicken; seal and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Set aside the remaining marinade in the bowl.
- While the chicken is chilling in the marinade, heat the 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Sauté the garlic, ginger and chile paste until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add 2 cups of the reserved marinade to the skillet and simmer, whisking constantly, until the mixture has become a darker brown and thickened. Remove from the heat and cover.
- To prepare the chicken for coating and frying, whisk the egg whites in a shallow dish until foamy; set aside. Combine the cornstarch, flour, baking soda, and remaining marinade in a second shallow dish; mix using a fork until it resembles coarse meal.
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and from the marinade. Pat the marinated chicken dry with paper towels.
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat until the oil registers 350 degrees.
- While the oil is heating, prepare the chicken for frying. Toss half the chicken into the foamy egg whites until well coated, then dredge the chicken in the cornstarch mixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer the coated chicken to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Fry half the chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning each piece halfway through cooking. Transfer the cooked chicken onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Return the oil to 350 degrees. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Warm the sauce over medium heat until simmering. Turn off the heat and add the fried chicken pieces. Toss to coat and serve, sprinkling with sesame seeds and chopped scallions.
