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5.0 from 69 votes

Sesame Chicken Recipe

This Sesame Chicken Recipe is truly better than takeout! Our Sesame Chicken is sweet, salty, sticky, delicious and really easy to put together. It’s a great meal to enjoy on the weekend, but easy enough to make during the week, and makes great leftovers!

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
32 mins
Servings: 6
Calories: 394 kcal
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients

Sweet and Sticky Sesame Sauce
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • 4 tsp cornstarch
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
Crispy Chicken
  • 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs cubed into bite sized pieces (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • ½ cup all purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup cold seltzer water
  • salt and pepper to taste
frying
  • 2 cups vegetable oil
garnish
  • 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 green onion thinly sliced

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Place all sauce ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together.
  2. Preheat oil, in a wok or tall sided pot, to 350˚F.
  3. Toss cubed chicken thighs generously in salt and pepper.
  4. Batter: In a mixing bowl whisk together cornstarch and flour. Whisk in eggs and seltzer water until a smooth batter forms.
  5. Add seasoned chicken cubes to batter and stir to coat.
  6. In small batches remove chicken from batter, allowing excess to drip off and transfer to hot frying oil.
  7. Frying: Fry coated chicken for 4 to 5 minutes or until crispy and cooked through. Transfer fried chicken to a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack (or lined with paper towels) and repeat until all chicken has been fried.
  8. Drain oil from wok and place over medium-high heat (or place a clean, large skillet over medium-high heat). Add sauce to wok or skillet and stir together until sugar dissolves and sauce thickens, 1 to 2 minutes.
  9. Assemble: Add chicken to sauce and quickly toss together until all chicken is fully and evenly coated.  Top with more toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions and serve with steamed rice.

Notes

  • To freeze: Batter and fry chicken. Once the fried chicken has cooled, place the chicken onto a baking sheet, making sure the pieces aren’t touching one another. Once the pieces are frozen, transfer the chicken into a resealable bag. Pour sauce into a saucepan and heat until sugar dissolves. Pour sauce into an airtight container and freeze.
  • To reheat: Thaw sauce completely before using. Pour a thin layer of oil into a hot skillet and re-fry frozen chicken pieces (be careful of oil spatter). Remove chicken and drain oil. Add sauce to skillet and simmer until slightly thickened. Add chicken and toss together until well coated.
  • For a healthier version, you can omit the batter all together and pan fry the cubed chicken with a fraction of the oil. Once the chicken has cooked through, add the sauce ingredients and allow the sauce to thicken and coat the chicken. The sauce won’t stick to the chicken as well and the texture will be different, but the delicious flavors will all be there.
  • For a vegetarian version, try using cauliflower florets for an equally tasty dish! 

Nutrition Information

Serving 1serving Calories 394kcal (20%) Carbohydrates 34g (11%) Protein 26g (52%) Fat 17g (26%) Saturated Fat 8g (40%) Cholesterol 162mg (54%) Sodium 677mg (28%) Potassium 360mg (10%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 18g (36%) Vitamin A 126IU (3%) Vitamin C 1mg (1%) Calcium 60mg (6%) Iron 2mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 394

% Daily Value*

Serving 1serving
Calories 394kcal 20%
Carbohydrates 34g 11%
Protein 26g 52%
Fat 17g 26%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Cholesterol 162mg 54%
Sodium 677mg 28%
Potassium 360mg 8%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 18g 36%
Vitamin A 126IU 3%
Vitamin C 1mg 1%
Calcium 60mg 6%
Iron 2mg 11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.