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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.
My husband said this is the best chicken I’ve made in a while <3 and I make some good chicken dishes! He doesn't like any spicy so this was perfect. Even the tots loved it! I've been looking for the perfect Sesame chicken recipe, this is it, thanks!
Hi Samantha, thanks for trying my sesame chicken recipe. I am so glad that your family enjoyed it. Do try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Rasa! Best ever sesame chicken is right! Your recipes never fail me girl! A hit with entire family. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Martha, thanks so much, I am so happy to hear that you love my sesame chicken recipe.
Just tried this recipe yesterday – so much better than most of the takeout places around here!
I wanted a little more flavor to my sauce, so I added some rice wine and sesame oil. Very savory.
I’d like to experiment some more with the flavor – can you suggest any other ingredients to try? Maybe something to make it a little more tangy?
Thanks!
Add some orange juice to the sesame chicken sauce! :)
Why did you use regular sugar instead of brown sugar?
We use regular sugar to cook in Asian food. We never use brown sugar.
What ingredient do Chinese restaurants use to add a spicy kick to this? My home town place added something to spice it up but it wasn’t overwhelming and I can’t figure it out. They wouldn’t tell me when I asked, telling me if they told me people could make it for themselves and they would be out of business. I disagreed and said, no, it just allows me to know how they do it. Do you have any ideas what it could be. By the way, it was NOT sriracha. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Well, it depends on what dishes you are talking about. It could be anything, red spicy oil, dried red chilies. No Sriracha, it’s not a Chinese ingredient.
Dried Red Chillies is what our favorite restaurant uses.
O added dried chilies and green onoion… This was outstanding!
For the sauce – how much water is there supposed to be? 1/3 Cup? Or 1/3 Tablespoon? It seems like you copied and pasted and something got mixed up…
1/3 cup. It was a typo.
My Frying Batter is more like a dough than a batter. Is this right?!
No it shouldn’t be, it should be liquidy.
Add a little bit water.
i love to eat this..especially when come to chew those tiny sesame seeds..hehe..omo, i am craving for this..
HI would this be suitable if I replace fish for the chicken?
Try cauliflower it holds better
Nutrish and delish. Can’t wait to make these. Even have the sesame seeds ready to go. Great inspiration. And we have the Superbowl coming ya know. As a gym teacher, I’d better watch!