🍗 Sesame chicken
Sesame chicken is an American Chinese restaurant dish of bite-size chicken pieces coated in batter, deep-fried until crisp and tossed in a glossy sweet soy-and-garlic sauce. A generous shower of toasted sesame seeds gives it a nutty crunch. It is sweet, savoury and sticky, and is usually served with steamed rice and sometimes broccoli.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 600 g boneless chicken thighs, in bite-size pieces
- 1 egg
- 60 g cornstarch
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Method
- Toss the chicken with the beaten egg, then with the cornstarch until coated.
- Deep-fry in oil at 175 °C in batches for 5–6 minutes until crisp; drain.
- In a wok, simmer the soy sauce, sugar, garlic and 4 tbsp water for 2 minutes; thicken with 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with water.
- Toss the chicken in the sauce, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice.
How to make it lighter
- Air-fry or oven-bake the coated chicken instead of deep-frying.
- Use chicken breast and halve the sugar in the sauce.
- Serve with steamed broccoli and a smaller scoop of rice.
History
Sesame chicken is a staple of Chinese-American takeaway menus and is closely related to General Tso's chicken, though usually less spicy. It developed in North American Chinese restaurants rather than in China itself.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →