Sesame chicken is a common dish served at Chinese restaurants in America. It has tender chunks of chicken, lightly coated and fried to perfection, then tossed in a slightly sweet and tangy brown sauce. While take out is always nice, this recipe can be made without leaving the comforts of your home and tastes even better! Top this dish with sesame seeds, green onions, serve over rice and watch your family devour this delicious meal.
Cooking Tips:
- Why add whiskey? This is my Grandma’s secret, she says that when you add the whisky it helps to tenderize the meat. Making the chicken even juicier in every bite
- Why cornstarch and not flour? We are going for crispy, lightly coated chicken. When flour is added, it has too much gluten making the coating too thick. A thicker coating also tends to soak up too much of the sauce, making the chicken more soggy in this dish. Cornstarch however gives it a nice crispy exterior that isn’t too heavy or thick on the chicken
- When frying the chicken you must work in batches. You do not want to over crowd the pan or the oil temperature may drop too quickly making the chicken absorb the grease and not crisp. Also the cornstarch has a tendency to bind all the chicken together, acting like a glue. You will need to separate each chicken piece and place it in the oil
- When frying the chicken, the cornstarch likes to pull the chicken pieces together. Make sure there is enough room in the pan so the chicken does not touch other pieces. Otherwise they will clump together and become one large piece
- Why is there not any cornstarch added to the sauce? The cornstarch is not needed in this sauce. When you coat the chicken in the pan over medium heat with the sauce, the sauce will reduce down and thicken without the addition of cornstarch
Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade & Coating
- 1 to 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp whiskey
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp honey
- 2 egg whites, beaten
- 1 cup corn starch
Sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp water
Other ingredients
- Sesame seeds
- Green onions, cut
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces. In a large bowl add chicken, garlic, whiskey, soy sauce, honey and egg whites. Let marinade for 15-30 minutes. Add in cornstarch and mix together until all chicken is coated
- In a heavy bottom pot or cast iron skillet, heat oil. Once oil is hot, add in chicken. Do not crowd the pan, you will have to work in batches, about 3 – 4 batches total. Flip the chicken as it cooks and once it is crispy, golden brown and cooked through, about remove from oil and place on a parchment lined baking sheet with a cookie cooling rack. This will help drain the oil and keep the chicken crispy
- In a pan over medium heat, add in all the chicken. Pour the sauce over the top and toss to coat. Simmer and reduce the sauce until it has thickened. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve over rice and enjoy
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