This recipe for Sesame Chicken calls for soft pieces of chicken covered in a sweet and flavorful sesame sauce. This simple meal can be made in under 30 minutes!
My family loved this sesame chicken right away, and I bet yours will, too! This is the perfect evening supper meal because it’s easy to cook, tastes great, and is better for you than takeout.
The sesame sauce that covers each piece of chicken is what makes this recipe so great. It has the perfect mix of sweet and salty tastes. When you mix the sauce with the browned chicken in the hot pan, the sauce thickens and makes a sticky coating on the chicken that you can’t resist. We’ve been making this sesame chicken over and over again. Try it and you’ll see why!
What goes into sesame chicken
This sesame chicken isn’t fried in oil; instead, it’s cooked in a small quantity of oil in a skillet until it’s browned and soft. Cornstarch, egg, and flour on the chicken make it a little crispy. It’s not as crunchy as frying, but it’s healthier and just as tasty.To make the sesame sauce, you’ll need soy sauce (I use low sodium), ketchup, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, and cornstarch. For a little spice, I also like to add a tablespoon of sweet chili sauce or a teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
Cut the chicken breast into cubes that are 1 inch wide.
- Eggs and cornstarch: To coat the chicken so that it gets a little crispy in the hot pan.
- To flavor the chicken, use salt and pepper.
- Flour: To cover the pieces of chicken. The flour helps the chicken get a tasty brown crust on the outside.
- Canola Oil: I use canola oil instead of olive oil in this recipe since canola oil has a higher smoke point. If you want, you can use olive oil.
Ingredients
- ◯ Cut 1 ½ pounds (680 grams) of chicken breast into cubes that are 1 inch thick.
- ◯ Two big eggs
- ◯ ½ cup of cornstarch
- ◯ 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
- ◯ ½ tsp of salt
- ◯ ¼ tsp black pepper
- ◯ 2 to 3 tablespoons of canola oil for cooking
- ◯ ¼ cup of soy sauce with low sodium
- ◯ 2 tablespoons of ketchup
- ◯ 3 tablespoons of honey
- ◯ 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- ◯ 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
- ◯ 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- ◯ 2 cloves of garlic, chopped up
- ◯ 1 tbsp cornstarch
- ◯ 2 tablespoons of water (to dissolve the cornstarch)
- ◯ 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce OR ⅛ tsp red pepper flakes (optional heat)
- ◯ 1–2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
- ◯ Two green onions cut into slices
How to Cook Sesame Chicken
It only takes a few basic steps to make this sesame chicken. The recipe card below has the whole recipe and the proportions of each item.
- To start, mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix well with a whisk.
- Put the eggs, cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a large, shallow dish and mix them together.
- Put the flour in a second wide, shallow dish.
- Put the chicken pieces in the egg/cornstarch mixture, then the flour, and gently shake off any extra.
- Put the oil in a big skillet, like a cast iron one, and heat it up.
- Put the chicken in the pan and cook it until it is brown and cooked all the way through, turning it to cook both sides evenly.
- Move the cooked chicken to one side of the pan.
- Pour the sauce into the opposite half of the pan and heat, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it thickens.
- Gently mix the sauce with the chicken.
Tips for Making Sesame Chicken
Cut the chicken into pieces that are no bigger than 1 inch by 1 inch. This will help them cook faster.
Change the heat while the chicken is cooking. If the chicken is getting too brown before it is done cooking, turn down the heat a little.
When you flip the chicken pieces over, be cautious not to let the coating slip off.
You can keep cooking the meal for 2–3 more minutes over low heat once you mix the chicken and sauce together. This will make the dish less saucy, but it will turn the sauce into a tasty sticky coating on the chicken.
