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Home / Recipes
40 minutes
4.53 from 63 votes
57 Comments

Sesame Chicken

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  • 520
by: Joanna Cismaru
09.13.20

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Delicious Sesame Chicken in a sweet and savory sauce that’s crispy on the outside and moist on the inside! Tossed in a delectable and simple sauce, feel free to pop these into your mouth one after another, because this version is better than the restaurant version.

sesame chicken garnished with green onions in a fancy bowl

This is a super easy recipe for battered crispy chicken doused in a delicious honey and garlic sesame sauce. I like to pile this chicken over top of fluffy white rice to ensure that every last drop of sauce doesn’t go to waste, it’s that good.

This sesame chicken melts in your mouth. It’s sweet from the honey, salty from the soy sauce, boasting big flavor with sesame oil and lots of garlic. So easy, yet so dreamy! This chicken is perfect for a weeknight dinner served over rice, lunch with a side salad, or even with some eggs for breakfast.

all the ingredients needed to make sesame chicken in individual bowls

Ingredients

  • Chicken breasts – Thighs will work as well. Boneless, skinless, and cut into bite-sized pieces.
  • Flour – All-purpose.
  • Egg White – This is for the flour to stick to the chicken better.
  • Sesame oil – Regular or toasted sesame oil if you can find it.
  • Garlic – The more the merrier!
  • Rice Vinegar – To add brightness, acidity and to balance out the flavors.
  • Honey – Granulated sugar, brown sugar, or agave can be used instead.
  • Soy sauce – I always use low sodium.
  • Chicken broth – Or any type of broth you have handy.
  • Sesame seeds – Regular or toasted.
  • Cornstarch – With a little bit of water to make a slurry to thicken the sauce.
detailed process shots showing how to prepare the chicken and marinade for sesame chicken

How to make sesame chicken

  1. Prep and marinate chicken: Add all the chicken and marinade ingredients to a bowl and toss well to break up the egg white. Marinate for 10 minutes.
  2. Prepare sauce: In another bowl add the chicken broth, rice vinegar, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil and whisk well.
  3. Dredge chicken through flour: Add the flour to a shallow plate or bowl. Toss in the chicken pieces and the marinade, then use your hands to toss everything together.
  4. Fry chicken: Add about a cup of oil to a wok or skillet and heat over high heat. When the oil is hot enough, add a few chicken pieces at once, shaking off any excess flour and fry for about 3 to 4 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Drain on a plate lined with kitchen towels. Repeat with remaining chicken, it will take about 3 batches.
  5. Cook sauce: In a clean wok add the prepared sauce and simmer over medium-low heat. Form a cornstarch slurry by mixing it with the tbsp of water, then pour into the sauce. Whisk the sauce and cook for another minute until the sauce has thickened.
  6. Toss chicken with sauce: Add the cooked chicken pieces to the sauce in the wok and toss well until the chicken is evenly coated. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.
detailed process shots showing how to fry chicken and toss it with sauce

Baked sesame chicken

To bake this follow these instructions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Prepare the chicken as instructed up to and including dredging it through flour. Place the chicken onto the prepared baking sheet. 
  3. Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown and crisp.
  4. Make and cook the sauce as instructed in the recipe card.
  5. Toss chicken with sauce: Add the cooked chicken pieces to the sauce in the wok and toss well until the chicken is evenly coated. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

How to serve

These pop-able bites are great on their own as an appetizer, or you can add a few simple sides to turn them into a full meal. Here are a few of my favorite sides:

  • Coconut Rice
  • Instant Pot Rice
  • Chow Mein
  • Tofu Drunken Noodles
  • Quinoa Salad
  • Kale and Quinoa Salad
a pair of chopsticks picking of up piece of chicken from a bowl full of sesame chicken

Leftovers

Transfer the leftover sesame chicken to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-4 days. Make sure the chicken has fully cooled down to room temperature otherwise it will steam itself in the container.

You can toss this chicken cold into a salad straight from the fridge! Otherwise, if you’d like it warm, you can reheat in the microwave at 15-20 second intervals. You can also reheat in the oven at 450F for 5-7 minutes.

Freezing

Place the chicken bites on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours, or until solid. Transfer the frozen chicken to a large freezer bag or airtight container.

Using this method, you can take out a few pieces at a time as you need them without having all of the pieces stick together. It will last up to 4 months frozen.

sesame chicken garnished with green onions in a fancy bowl

Did you love these simple chicken bites? Try these:

  • Bang Bang Chicken
  • Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
  • Sweet and Sour Chicken
  • Korean Fried Chicken
  • Baked Honey Garlic Chicken
  • Chicken Teriyaki
  • Cuban Chicharrones de Pollo
  • Chicken Milanese Bites

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a pair of chopsticks picking of up piece of chicken from a bowl full of sesame chicken

Sesame Chicken

4.53 from 63 votes
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Marinating time: 10 mins
Total: 40 mins
Author: Joanna Cismaru
Serves: 6
Print Pin Rate
Delicious Sesame Chicken in a sweet and savory sauce that's crispy on the outside and moist on the inside! Tossed in a delectable and simple sauce, feel free to pop these into your mouth one after another, because this version is better than the restaurant version.

Equipment

  • Nonstick Chinese Wok – Dishwasher Safe

Ingredients

Chicken and Marinade

  • 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts boneless and skinless, cut into cubes
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

For sauce

  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon water

Other

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Prep and marinate chicken: Add all the chicken and marinade ingredients to a bowl and toss well to break up the egg white. Marinate for 10 minutes.
  • Prepare sauce: In another bowl add the chicken broth, rice vinegar, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil and whisk well.
  • Dredge chicken through flour: Add the flour to a shallow plate or bowl. Toss in the chicken pieces and the marinade, then use your hands to toss everything together.
  • Fry chicken: Add about a cup of oil to a wok or skillet and heat over high heat. When the oil is hot enough, add a few chicken pieces at once, shaking off any excess flour and fry for about 3 to 4 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Drain on a plate lined with kitchen towels. Repeat with remaining chicken, it will take about 3 batches.
  • Cook sauce: In a clean wok add the prepared sauce and simmer over medium-low heat. Form a cornstarch slurry by mixing it with the tbsp of water, then pour into the sauce. Whisk the sauce and cook for another minute until the sauce has thickened.
  • Toss chicken with sauce: Add the cooked chicken pieces to the sauce in the wok and toss well until the chicken is evenly coated. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Video

Recipe Notes

  1. Transfer the leftover sesame chicken to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-4 days. Make sure the chicken has fully cooled down to room temperature otherwise it will steam itself in the container.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 324kcal (16%)Carbohydrates: 31g (10%)Protein: 28g (56%)Fat: 9g (14%)Saturated Fat: 2g (13%)Cholesterol: 73mg (24%)Sodium: 503mg (22%)Potassium: 507mg (14%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 12g (13%)Vitamin A: 34IU (1%)Vitamin C: 2mg (2%)Calcium: 26mg (3%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
Course:Appetizer, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine:American
Keyword:sesame garlic chicken
Tried this recipe? Rate it belowtag @jocooks on instagram and hashtag it #jocooks!
  • 520

Meet Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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Comments

  1. Jen Flynn says

    January 19, 2022 at 6:15 pm

    Can you use an air fryer for the chicken?

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      January 20, 2022 at 9:36 am

      For sure!

      Reply
  2. EssEss EssEss says

    October 30, 2020 at 9:27 am

    5 stars
    I was worried that this would be too bland so I put in 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes. I didn’t really need them but I will continue to do that in the future just because I like a little spiciness. There was a wonderfully strong flavor of sesame that didn’t need any accentuation. I have added this to my rotation of regular recipes to make for dinner. I am going to try to double the sauce next time to have more to pour over my rice. I used the ‘baked’ version. I wasn’t sure if the recipe was correct about adding the marinade in with the flour. but I decided to do it. I didn’t bother ‘dredging’ on a plate. I just dumped the flour into the same bowl where I was marinating and stirred all the pieces to get them coated with the flour. It coated the pieces beautifully that way.

    Reply
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I'm Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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