Delicious chunks of crispy chicken, covered in an umami-packed sauce that is sweet, salty, sticky and a little bit spicy all at once, and sprinkled generously with sesame seeds – this Easy Sesame Chicken is set to be your new family favourite!
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Like takeaway – only better!
Do you love the Sesame Chicken from your local Chinese takeaway? Now you can make it at home – only better!
I don’t know about you, but I always feel the sauce on takeaway sesame chicken is a bit one dimensional and a bit too sweet and gloopy…
This homemade version of Sesame Chicken still features delicious chunks of crispy chicken, but it’s packed full of flavour, thanks to the umami-packed sauce that is sweet, salty, sticky and a little bit spicy all at once. And of course it’s sprinkled generously with sesame seeds!
Better still it is ready in just 20 minutes and only uses one pan.
How to make homemade sesame chicken
Sesame chicken really is very easy to make at home.
First you need to velvetize the chicken (see below). Then, you simply place all the sauce ingredients in a clean jam jar, pop the lid on and give it a good shake to ensure everything is well mixed.
Next, you add egg and cornflour to the chicken bowl and mix well. Then you deep-ish fry (see below) the chicken in 2 batches.
Finally, you remove the oil from the pan and pour in the sauce from the jam jar. Heat it over a low heat until it starts to gently bubble, then add the crispy chicken and stir to get the chicken evenly coated in the sauce.
Serve immediately garnished with lots of sesame seeds and sliced spring onions.
(Full recipe given in the recipe card below.)
What does it mean to ‘velvetize’ chicken?
To ‘velvetize’ chicken (or indeed any meat), is a Chinese cooking technique that involves marinating raw meat in baking soda to tenderize it. This gives the chicken a much more tender texture when cooked and stops the meat becoming ‘tough’ or chewy, which can sometimes happen with this kind of recipe.
It’s a small extra step, but well worth it!
What is ‘deep-ish’ frying?
You’ll notice I talk about ‘deep-ish’ frying. This is not a technical term, but rather my own term for frying that is somewhere between shallow frying and deep frying. I suppose you could call also it medium-depth frying, but I feel deep-ish frying better captures it. Essentially you are deep frying, just using less oil!
In the case of this recipe, it involves half-filling a wok with oil, heating the oil for 2 minutes and then frying the pork pieces in 2 batches.
If you’ve ever worried about deep frying, or thought it sounded far too time-consuming or just too much effort, you are going to LOVE deep-ish frying! It’s really not much more effort than regular shallow frying, but it delivers really impressive results.
What to serve with sesame chicken
Sesame chicken is delicious served simply with a side of plain jasmine rice. Alternatively, you could serve it with plain egg fried rice or special fried rice.
Or, you could serve it as part of a Chinese fakeaway feast with all your favourite Chinese takeaway copycat recipes!
What to drink with sesame chicken
Because of the sweetness in this dish, together with the heat of the chillies, Sesame chicken is best paired with an aromatic white wine, such as Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio, Viognier, Riesling or Gewurztraminer. Alternatively, you could try a fruity rosé from somewhere like Spain or Southern France, which also works well with this kind of dish.
However, for me, hands down the best match is an off-dry German Riesling. Even if you normally prefer dry whites, you may be pleasantly surprised as, with this dish, the touch of sweetness in the wine compliments the sweetness in the sauce beautifully AND it works really well with the chilli heat!
Love easy Chinese fakeaway recipes?
Then you are going to love these:
- Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken
- Special Chow Mein
- Beef Chow Mein
- Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Easy Sweet and Sour Pork
Easy Sweet and Sour Pork
What to do with leftover sesame chicken
Put any leftover sesame chicken in a lidded container and place in the fridge, where it will keep for up to 3 days.
To reheat, simply tip the chicken into a saucepan with a splash of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until piping hot all the way through.
Alternatively reheat the sesame chicken in the microwave until piping hot all the way through.
(NOTE: sesame chicken is a dish that is best made fresh. If you make sweet and sour pork ahead of time and reheat it later the pork will lose a lot of its crispy-ness. It will still taste delicious though!)
Can you freeze sesame chicken?
Sesame chicken is a dish that is best made fresh. If you freeze it and reheat it, the chicken will lose a lot of its crispy-ness.
However, you can still freeze it if you want to. Simply put the cooked and cooled sesame chicken into a lidded container and place it in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
- Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken
- Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Easy Chicken Mince Bolognese
- Easy Chicken Balti
- Peri Peri Chicken Pizza (Nando’s Inspired)
Peri Peri Chicken Pizza
Easy Sesame Chicken (Chinese Takeaway Copycat)
Ingredients
Sesame Chicken Sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce (I use Blue Dragon Original)
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 2 tablespoons runny honey
- 2 cloves garlic grated or crushed
- ¼ teaspoon dried chilli flakes (or to taste)
Crispy Fried Chicken
- 600 g chicken breast chopped into bite-sized chunks – roughly 1.5cm (½inch) cubes
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (for velvetizing the chicken – see Note 1)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 beaten egg
- 4 tablespoons cornflour (US - cornstarch)
- 250 ml sunflower oil for deep-ish frying (See Note 2)
To Serve
- Jasmine rice
- 3 spring onions finely sliced for garnish (optional)
- Sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Place the chicken chunks in a large bowl. Add the bicarbonate of soda and the soy sauce. Mix thoroughly to ensure the chicken is evenly coated in the soy sauce and bicarbonate of soda mixture. Leave for 5 minutes while you make the sauce. (See Note 1.)
- Place all the sauce ingredients in a clean jam jar (or similar), stir to combine, then pop the lid on and give it a good shake to ensure everything is well mixed.
- Next, add the egg and cornflour to the chicken bowl. Use your hands to turn the chicken and get it evenly coated with the cornflour/egg mixture.
- Place ALL the sunflower oil in your wok, and heat the oil over a high heat for 2 minutes. (See Note 2.)
- Carefully add HALF the chicken pieces, using tongs and deep fry, turning each piece occasionally, until golden brown on all sides. (Approximately 4 minutes total – do not overcook!) Place 2 pieces of kitchen roll on a plate. Remove the chicken to the plate.
- Repeat for the second half of the chicken, using the same oil.
- Remove the oil from the wok (see Note 3) and return the pan onto a medium heat. Pour in the sauce from the jam jar and heat over a low heat until it starts to gently bubble. Add the crispy chicken and stir to get the chicken evenly coated in the sauce.
- Turn the heat off immediately to stop the sauce thickening too much or making the chicken soggy. (See Note 4.)
- Serve immediately with jasmine rice, and garnished with sesame seeds and sliced spring onions.
Notes
- Using baking soda is a Chinese restaurant secret hack! It tenderises the meat, meaning that your chicken will be beautifully tender in spite of being deep fried at a high temperature. Try it – you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes!
- Use a neutral oil for deep frying such as rapeseed, vegetable or sunflower. Alternatively, if you prefer cooking with olive oil, use a mild olive oil. You are not really ‘deep’ frying, more ‘medium-depth’ frying. But if you don’t want to do that, you can just ‘shallow fry’ in the normal way instead – the chicken won’t be as crispy, but it will still taste good! Do this with a couple of tablespoons of oil heated for 1 minute before adding HALF the chicken. Fry for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through. Remove to a plate and repeat for the second half.
- Please take care when removing the oil from the wok. It will be extremely hot. Pour into a suitable container. Do not throw down the sink. Discard responsibly when cool.
- Cooked as per the above instructions, the chicken should be fully cooked all the way through. However, if you are at all unsure, check the chicken is cooked through by cutting open the largest piece you can find. There should be no pink meat. If you do find pink meat, return the pan to the heat and continue cooking for a further minute.
- Quantities given above will give enough sauce to thickly coat the chicken. If you want a more 'saucy' Sesame Chicken, simply double the amount of sauce (though obviously do bear in mind that this will also increase the calories!)
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
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