One thing I got used to doing during the lockdowns was learning to make all my favorite restaurant dishes at home. Before COVID I rarely attempted making Chinese food at home, I mistakenly thought its would be too difficult. After dusting off a Chinese cookbook I picked up at a thrift store years ago and trying a couple of recipes, I found out just how easy it is to cook up outstanding Chinese dishes in your home kitchen. So when a craving for Chinese food hits, don’t order take out, make it at home instead. It’s much more economical and you get to control all the ingredients so you know what you’re serving your family. Not only is it going to taste good, but it will be good for them as well.
Don’t let this recipe intimidate you. If you prepare and set out everything before you start cooking you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to make this dish. A little prep on the front end, makes cooking up this dish super easy!
Start by getting the rice going on the stove. No fancy rice cooker needed. If you’ve never had good results cooking rice learn How To Cook Rice on the stove and get perfectly cooked fluffy rice every time!
Good To Know: If the rice is done before the chicken is, don’t stress. Just pull the pan off the heat and leave it sitting, covered on the stovetop until ready to serve. That’s one of the things I love about rice, it’s very forgiving and it can hang out on the stovetop for up to 30 minutes without any negative effects.
Once you’ve got the rice going it’s time to start on the chicken. Place chicken pieces in a mixing bowl.
Add 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, minced garlic, baking powder, ½ tsp sugar, and pepper.
Mix to combine.
Allow the chicken to marinate for at least 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes add an egg white and mix with the chicken to combine. Set aside.
Make The Sauce:
Place honey, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, ketchup, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp sugar, vinegar, and water in a small bowl.
Good To Know: Light soy sauce is not the same as the regular soy sauce you typically use at the table to season finished dishes. It’s used primarily for cooking. You can find light soy sauce in any good Asian market or supermarket with a well stocked Asian food section.
Whisk together to combine. Set the sauce aside.
Cook The Chicken:
Place about 2 inches of vegetable oil in a wok and heat over medium high heat.
Place cornstarch in a shallow bowl. Place chicken pieces in the cornstarch and coat each piece, shaking off excess.
Once oil is hot add coated chicken pieces to the oil and cook until light golden brown.
Do not crowd the pan. Cook chicken pieces in batches.
Drain cooked chicken pieces on a plate lined with paper towels.
Once all the chicken pieces are cooked, discard the oil in the pan and wipe out the wok with a paper towel.
Place the wok over medium high heat and add the reserved sauce.
Cook the sauce and bring it to a boil stirring frequently until it thickens, about 1-2 minutes.
Once the sauce comes to a boil and thickens, add the fried chicken pieces to the wok.
Toss to coat the chicken pieces with the sauce.
Serve over a bed of steamed white rice with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and green onions.
A huge shout out to Khin at Khinskitchen.com for this fantastic recipe! This recipe rivals the sesame chicken from my favorite local Chinese restaurant. It actually turned out so good I’d say it’s a lot better! Not only is it an easy dish to prepare but making it at home is much more economical, plus I know exactly what’s in it. No MSG or other ingredients that aren’t good for you. Next time I make it I am doubling the recipe! Hubs was looking for leftovers to take to work the next day but we ate it all up for dinner, it was that tasty!
Restaurant Style Sesame Chicken
Equipment
- Wok
Ingredients
- 1 lb Boneless, skinless, chciken thighs, cute into bite sized chunks
- 1 cup corn starch
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced
- 1 egg white
- vegetable oil, for frying
For The Marinade:
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp black pepper
For The Sauce:
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 3 tbsp water
- 3 cups cooked white rice
Instructions
- Place chicken in a mixing bowl and add 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, minced garlic, baking powder, ½ tsp sugar, and pepper.
- Mix to combine. Allow the chicken to marinate for at least 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes add egg white and mix with chicken to combine. Set aside.
Make The Sauce:
- Place honey, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, ketchup, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp sugar, vinegar, and water in a small bowl. Whisk together to combine. Set aside.
Cook The Chicken:
- Place about 2 inches of vegetable oil in a wok and heat over medium high heat.
- Place cornstarch in a shallow bowl.
- Place chicken pieces in the cornstarch and coat each piece, shaking off excess.
- Once oil is hot add coated chicken pieces to the oil and cook until light golden brown.
- Do not crowd the pan. Cook chicken pieces in batches.
- Drain cooked chicken pieces on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Once all the chicken pieces are cooked, discard oil in the pan and wipe out the wok with a paper towel.
- Place the wok over medium high heat and add the reserved sauce.
- Cook the sauce and bring it to a boil stirring frequently.
- Once the sauce comes to a boil and thickens, add the fried chicken pieces.
- Toss to coat chicken pieces with the sauce.
- Serve over a bed of steamed white rice with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and green onions.
Did You Make This?
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