Sesame Chicken

Crispy fried chicken is tossed in a sweet, savory, and sticky honey sesame sauce. This homemade sesame chicken tastes better than your favorite restaurant takeout and is also quite easy to make.

Honey Sesame Chicken is one of the popular Chinese takeaways. Typically served on a bowl of steamed rice, this makes for a perfect weeknight dinner recipe. This homemade version is better than your favorite Chinese restaurant takeout on any day. Chicken is seasoned, coated with cornstarch mixture, and then deep fried until it is crispy. Then the crispy fried chicken is tossed in a sweet, salty, and savory honey sesame sauce. While serving a generous sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds on top adds nuttiness to the dish.

Reasons this sesame chicken is better than the takeout version

The fried chicken has a light and airy coating. It’s not too greasy and stays crispy even after tossing in the sauce. Crispy chicken, all thanks to a mix of cornstarch and baking powder used to coat the chicken.
Honey sesame sauce has the right amount of sweetness. It has a hint of sesame from toasted sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.
Homemade one always tastes better than takeout because you can customize the sauce as per your taste and you know what goes into the sauce.
If planned a bit ahead of time, you can do this in just 30 minutes.

Ingredients you need

The list of ingredients might look long, but if you are into making Asian takeouts at home, then I am sure you will have most of the ingredients already in your pantry.

Chicken breast– boneless chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces. You can also use chicken thighs if that’s what you have in hand.
Eggs- I full egg and one egg white. To make a wet marinade for the chicken before dipping them into the cornstarch mix. Egg also helps to moisten the chicken after frying.
Soy sauce- To season the chicken
Cornstarch, flour, baking powder– For dry coating the chicken pieces. A mix of cornstarch and flour makes the coating crispy and light.
Garlic – minced garlic.
Toasted sesame seeds

Honey Sesame sauce

Soy sauce
Tomato ketchup
Honey
Brown sugar
Rice vinegar
Sriracha

It’s a versatile recipe and you can easily bulk it up by adding veggies like blanched broccoli, bell pepper, snow peas, etc. The sauce is a perfect balance of sweetness and salt with the right hint of spice. However, you can adjust the sauce as per taste.

Ingredients to make Honey Sesame Chicken.

Steps to make Sesame Chicken

Making sesame chicken is not exactly easy, but it’s not technically a difficult recipe either. Frying chicken is the only step that takes a bit of time. Rest just mix sauce and toss chicken in it.

If using whole chicken breast, start with cutting the chicken into 1-inch pieces. Then mix it with beaten egg and soy sauce. Soy sauce acts as seasoning and the egg keeps the chicken moist while frying.
Coat wet chicken pieces in a layer dry mix of cornstarch, flour, and baking powder.
Then chicken is fried in a few inches of oil which makes for a crispy outer crust. It’s best to use a thermometer to make sure that your frying oil is around 350 degrees F. Else, insert a wooden chopstick, and if you see small bubbles appearing around the edges of the chopstick the oil is hot enough for frying.
Fry coated chicken pieces in 2-3 batches for 4-5 minutes until crispy.
Next, step is to make the sauce in the skillet by sauteing garlic, followed by adding all the sauces. Finish it off by tossing fried chicken in the sauce along with green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Steps showing coating chicken with eggs and flour, deep fried until crispy. Add all the sauce ingredients to the pan. Adding crispy chicken to the sauce.

Helpful Tips

Make sure the chicken is at room temperature while frying, or else it will result in uneven cooking.
You don’t have to deep fry the chicken. A couple of inches of oil is good enough for shallow frying, but make sure the skillet/pan you are using for frying is either non-stick or well-seasoned to prevent the chicken from getting stuck at the bottom.
Don’t skip on the baking powder. It helps to give a nice airy and crispy crust.
While frying chicken, make sure the oil is at the right temperature. Oil not hot enough, the chicken will soak a lot of oil and the crust will be soggy. If the oil is too hot, the crust will brown too soon but chicken will remain undercooked. Either use a kitchen thermometer or wooden chopstick to check if the oil is hot enough.
Toasting sesame seeds gives a nutty taste and this is my favourite ingredient in the recipe.
If you are planning to make it ahead, then make the sauce and fried chicken beforehand. Just assemble it before serving.

Sesame chicken served over a bowl of rice. Sesame seeds and chopped green onion sprinkled on top.

Storing Leftovers

Sesame chicken tastes best when served right after tossing chicken in the sauce. Chicken pieces will still be crunchy while hot. Chicken does lose its crispiness over time. However, in the case of leftovers store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.