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This is the best Sesame Chicken recipe with crispy chicken in sweet and savory sesame chicken sauce. It tastes just like Chinese restaurants and takes only 20 mins to make. Serve the chicken with steamed rice for an authentic homemade Chinese meal.
Sesame Chicken Recipe
What is Sesame Chicken?
It’s one of the most popular Chinese recipes found in Chinese restaurants and takeouts in the United States.
Everyone loves this deep-fried and crispy chicken coated with a sweet and savory sesame sauce.
Garnished with white sesame seeds, the crispy chicken and sauce pairs perfectly with a bowl of steamed rice.
This is the BEST recipe you will find online! It’s easy, authentic and tastes the same, if not better than Chinese restaurants!
Sesame Chicken Sauce
The sweet and savory sesame sauce is the star of the dish. It calls for the following ingredients:
- Soy sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Sugar
- Cornstarch
- Water
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Sesame Chicken
It’s very easy to make the dish at home. First, prep the chicken, frying batter and the sauce.
Next, coat the chicken with the batter and deep fry. The final step is to make the sauce and coat the chicken with it.
This homemade recipe is very easy and fail-proof and takes less than 20 minutes to make.
Cooking Tips
For the best results that is the same as the best Chinese restaurants, please follow my cooking tips below:
- For the crispiest chicken, follow my batter recipe and coat the chicken evenly. The frying batter produces crispy, light and airy chicken. Shake off the excess batter before deep frying the chicken.
- Use chicken breast meat for the best flavor.
- Do not drown the chicken with too much sesame sauce. Too much sauce will make the chicken soggy and not crispy.
Frequently Asked Questions
General Tso’s Chicken is a completely different dish with a spicy and dark sauce. Sesame sauce is sweet and savory in taste but not spicy. Both dishes are equally delicious!
For the best results, you should deep-fry the chicken. However, you can use an air fryer to air fry the chicken.
This recipe is only 306 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
This meal is best served with steamed rice or noodles. For a wholesome Chinese meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
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Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 oz. (230g) boneless and skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
- oil, for deep-frying
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- white sesame seeds, for garnishing
Frying Batter:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg white
- 1/3 cup cold water
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pinch salt
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese rice vinegar , or apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/3 cup water
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients in the Sauce until well combined. Set aside.
- Mix all the ingredients for the Frying Batter in a bowl until well combined. Stir a few times to ensure there are no lumps and the batter is smooth. Add the chicken to the batter and stir to coat it evenly.
- Heat 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm) of oil in a wok or stockpot to 350°F (175°C) for deep-frying. Gently drop the chicken into the hot oil and immediately loosen them with a spatula to prevent the pieces from clumping together.
- Deep-fry the chicken until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the oil using a strainer or slotted spoon, allowing the excess oil to drain by placing the chicken on a dish lined with paper towels. Discard the oil.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, then pour in the sauce.
- As soon as the sauce thickens, add the fried chicken to the wok or skillet. Stir continuously until the chicken is evenly coated with the sauce. Dish out, garnish with white sesame, and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Just discovered your recipes. I am going to pick up a few of the ingredients I need tomorrow.. I am MSG allergic so if I can make my own delicious Orange Chicken or Broccoli with Beef I will be in heaven.
Hello,
Would I be able to substitute honey for the and if so would measure be the same?
Yes you can. Just taste it, I am not sure how sweet your honey is.
Thank you! It turned out great! I added some cayenne pepper for a little kick and some sesame oil to the sauce and batter ;) This is the first Asian dish I have made with success at home ? My husband said it’s better than our favorite takeout!
Fantastic recipe!! Thank you!
Hi, looking forward to making this. I noticed you must have left out a word for the sesame. You wrote “1 Sesame, white”. For us non-asian people, it may be helpful to write “white sesame seeds”. But anyway, how much sesame seed? 1 tsp? 1 Tbsp?
I wrote white sesame, for garnishing. So it doesn’t really matter. Up to you.
Wasn’t sure what to cook tonight for dinner..And as always I turn the Pinterest for new ideas, not just cooking, everything is the Pinterest. Anyway found this recipe, and even though I didn’t have sesame seeds I decided this looked good. And boy was it..Used apple cider vinegar, as I wasn’t prepared for Asian cooking. A1 recipe..Even the 21 yr old twins that never like anything that doesn’t come through a drive through window loved it. Definitely another go-to from Pinterest for me..Thank you….
Thanks Kobe, so happy that your family loved my sesame chicken recipe. :)
Love this recipe! The first time I made it, my chicken was nice and crispy. The last couple of times it came out, the batter was soggy. What do you think may be causing this? I thought I may be adding the chicken into the sauce too soon and it’s not thick enough? Thoughts?
Your chicken is probably wet. Pat dry the chicken and they should work.
Pat dry the chicken before it goes in the batter or after I fry it before it goes in the sauce?
Did I say anything about pat dry the chicken in the recipe?
Hi Shannon, I think somewhere along your cooking, there must be a misstep or wrong measurement. This recipe was tested twice and the batter recipe always works for me and should NEVER be doughy. The egg white and water and when you add chicken into the batter, they dilute the batter. If anything the batter would become runny and not doughy. The sauce is soy sauce, sugar, and rice vinegar. It’s not watered down soy sauce. The recipe came out exactly like the photos, and the recipe had been tested twice. Many people have tried with great success and I personally love this Sesame Chicken recipe. It’s very tasty.
Hi, can I bake the chicken instead of deep frying I? I.e. With decent amount of oil
You can try but they won’t taste as good.
Fair enough. Is there a way to make them in advance for the same day?
If you make them in advance, they won’t be crispy.
Made this tonight and we LOVE it! Definitely better than take out! Can’t wait to make it again! I wonder if it would also work with shrimp instead of chicken??
Of course, sesame shrimp sounds like a great idea! :)
Thankyou for such a delicious recipe. The whole family absolutely loved it and I wish I made more as we woofed it all down and there was not a leftover in sight.
I made this with Gok Wan’s special fried on the side. Tastes exactly like a takeout but even nicer.