This Sticky Sesame Chicken recipe is so good you will never want to order Chinese takeout again! Sweet, sticky and delicious.
We lived in Asia for 12 years, and we still eat a lot of Asian cuisine - except now we mostly cook it ourselves. This Chinese sesame chicken is definitely one of our favorite dishes that we make over and over again.
It is seriously so delicious with its sweet sticky sauce so typical of Cantonese cuisine, and everyone in the family loves it.
I have not found a dish in a takeout that I love as much as this since I left Hong Kong two years ago. You really have to try it, I'm sure you'll love it too.
What is Sesame Chicken?
Sesame Chicken is a popular dish in Chinese restaurants and takeouts throughout North America.
It consists of bite-sized pieces of crispy chicken smothered in a sweet, savoury sticky sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
It is similar to General Tso's chicken, except the sauce tends to be sweeter in sesame chicken, and spicier in General Tso's chicken.
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How to make Sesame Chicken
Making this sticky chicken recipe is super easy!
First you need to coat the pieces of chicken for frying - first dip them in beaten egg, then coat in flour and cornflour. This not only gives a nice crispy finish to the chicken but helps thicken the sauce later.
Then you fry the chicken in oil until nice and browned and crisp. And then pour in the sauce and cook until it is nice and thick and the chicken is all coated and sticky.
Serve with sesame seeds sprinkled over the top and garnish with green onions if you wish.
And that's it! Super easy.
Sauce for Sesame Chicken
Making the Sesame Chicken sauce is also very easy. Just add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. I use a whisk to mix mine as the honey can be hard to stir in.
There are only six ingredients you will need for this sticky chicken sauce:
- Honey
- Tomato Ketchup
- Brown sugar
- Rice wine vinegar (you can substitute for white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
- Sweet chili sauce (add more for an extra kick, or omit if you don't want any heat. I usually only add a little if I'm making it for my kids)
- Soy Sauce
What to serve with Sesame Chicken
This homemade sesame chicken is best served with rice - either plain boiled rice or fried rice. You could also serve it over egg noodles.
Because the sauce is so rich and sweet, I think some fairly basic stir fry vegetables are a good accompaniment. I often use broccoli or sugar snap peas, red bell pepper, carrot and/or some baby corn.
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Sticky Sesame Chicken
This Sticky Sesame Chicken recipe is so good you will never want to order Chinese takeout again! Sweet, sticky and delicious.
Ingredients
Sauce for Sesame Chicken
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup tomato ketchup
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce (you might want to use less if cooking for kids)
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
Chicken
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 green onion
Instructions
- Place all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix together well. Set aside.
- Cut the chicken into bite size pieces.
- Get three bowls and put the flour into the first bowl, the cornstarch into the second bowl and beat the eggs into the third bowl.
- Take each piece of chicken and dip it into the beaten eggs, then coat in flour and then coat in cornflour. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a wok or heavy based frying pan. Add the chicken to the pan and fry over a medium heat for around 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned. You may need to do this in two or more batches depending on the size of your wok/frying pan.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and continue to cook until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is well coated.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and finely chopped green onions to serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 569Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 189mgSodium: 921mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 1gSugar: 30gProtein: 42g
We loved, loved, loved this recipe! Kids and adults have devoured their Sesame Chicken.
Yay! So pleased you liked it! It's a family favourite in our house too 🙂
This was delicious. I can’t help but modify so sautéed some shallots, had some fresh pineapple chunks and then added edamame, but I have to say…the sauce made it all come together.
Thanks Shar! Your additions sound delicious 🙂