• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Khin's Kitchen logo
  • All Recipes
  • Popular
  • Asian
  • Dinner
  • Noodles
  • Rice
  • Subscribe my Newsletter
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • Terms & Conditions
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Popular
  • Asian
  • Dinner
  • Noodles
  • Rice
  • Subscribe my Newsletter
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • Terms & Conditions
×
Home » Recipes » Chicken

Sesame Chicken

Published: Jun 29, 2020 · Modified: Apr 3, 2021 · by Khin · This post may contain affiliate links.

Jump to Recipe

The Best Crispy Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe - fried coated chicken glazed with a sweet and savoury sticky Asian sauce. This is our better than takeout recipe, which you can easily at home with simple ingredients.

Origin of this dish

You can find Chinese-style crispy chicken with sesame seeds in almost all Chinese restaurants and takeout in the US and UK. Originated in Chinese-American restaurants like the popular General Tso's Chicken and Orange chicken.

Also known as Sticky Honey Sesame Chicken because the crispy chicken is tossed in sweet, glossy, and sticky honey sauce. It's usually served over a stir fry noodle or steamed rice.

Every family and restaurant has its own version of it. Even American restaurant chain TGI Fridays has its version of TGI sesame chicken strips and Panda Express's one is very popular too.

With our easy recipe, you can create restaurant-quality at home with minimum effort. Super delicious and incredibly easy to make at home.

What makes this dish so special:

  • A perfect crowd-pleasing dish for any party or gathering. Serve as a starter or pair it with other dishes and make it the main meal.
  • The coating is super light and crispy, but the meat inside is moist and tender.
  • Super addictive and satisfying dish all kids and adults love. Unstoppable to take another bite!

Ingredients you can swap or add extra:

As this is a versatile dish, you can adjust or swap the ingredients according to your preference.

Protein: We usually make it with boneless chicken breast but you can also make it with boneless chicken thigh, fish fillets, or tofu. If you wish you make it with beef, use tender beef steak like ribeye, rump, sirloin, flank steak, and cut into thin strips.

Vegetables: I love to make without many veggies. But for veggies lovers, you can add extra onions, bell peppers, snow peas, or any of your favourite stir fry vegetables.

Honey Sesame Sauce: To achieve the perfectly balanced sweet and sticky honey sauce, you will need honey, sesame oil, sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, and water. If you prefer less sweet in the sauce, omit sugar or substitute sugar with honey.

Sesame Seeds: Use toasted sesame seeds to bring more nutty flavour and crunch texture to the dish.

What goes with this dish?

These crispy chicken bites are fantastic as a savoury snack. You can also serve with steamed rice, simple egg fried rice, noodles, potato chips, or wedges. Especially great with a Chinese tea or a can of cold drink. 

Simple Cooking Process

First of all, cut chicken breast into medium bite-size pieces. Marinate with sesame oil, light soy sauce, garlic paste, baking soda, sugar and black pepper for 10-15 minutes.

Gather all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside for later use.

Break one egg white into the marinated chicken and mix it well.

Coat the chicken pieces with corn/potato starch and toss the excess flour out before frying. Make sure to coat each chicken pieces and separate each pieces.

Fry with pre-heated oil about 350° F.  Add the chicken pieces and deep fry 2-3 mins until crispy golden brown. Remove from oil and set aside.

Pour the sauce mixture into the wok/pan and bring it to boil with medium-high heat.

Add the fried chicken pieces. Stir well with medium-high heat for few seconds.

Add the toasted sesame seeds and spring onions and stir well.

sesame chicken

Remove from heat and transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and chopped spring onions. Serve immediately!

More delicious takeout favourite crispy chicken recipes on our website:

  • General Tso’s Chicken ( Crispy chicken in a spicy, sweet, and savoury sauce. )
  • Crispy Orange Chicken ( Finger licking good tangy, sticky orange sauce! )
  • Crispy Shredded Chicken ( Our viewer's favourite! )
  • Chinese Salt and Chilli Chicken ( Most popular recipe on our website! )

If you enjoy our recipe, please leave a comment and give us a rating! If you’ve tried this recipe, tag me on social media, I would love to see your creations! Follow me on social media Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for the latest updates.

sesame chicken

Sesame Chicken

The Best Sesame Chicken Recipe with crispy fried coated chicken glazed with a sweet and savoury sticky Asian sauce.
4.91 from 82 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main
Cuisine: Chinese Cuisine
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 2
Calories: 396kcal
Author: Khin

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 0.70 lb Boneless chicken thigh/breast ( about 300 gram )
  • 1 cup Potato /Corn Starch
  • 2 tbsp Toasted sesame seeds
  • 2-3 Spring Onions
  • 1 Egg white
  • Oil for frying

 Marinate for Chicken

  • 1 tsp Sesame Oil
  • 1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
  • 1 tsp Garlic paste 
  • ¼ tsp Baking soda 
  • ½ tsp Sugar
  • ¼ tsp Black pepper

Sauce

  • 2 tbsp Honey
  • 2 tbsp Light soy sauce 
  • 2 tbsp Ketchup
  • 1 tbsp  Sesame Oil
  • 1 tbsp Brown/white sugar
  • 1 tbsp Vinegar 
  • 3 tbsp Water
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Cut chicken into small medium bite size pieces. Add all the ingredients from the chicken marinate list, mix well and marinate for 15 minutes.
  • In a small mixing bowl add all the ingredients from the sauce mix and mix well. Set aside.
  • Add one egg white into the marinated chicken and mix well. Coat the chicken pieces with Corn/potato flour and toss the excess flour out before frying.
  • Heat the oil into high heat about 350° F.  Add the coated chicken pieces and deep fry for 2-3 mins till chicken turn into light golden brown.  Remove from oil and set aside.
  • Heat the wok, add the sauce mixture and bring it to boil with medium high heat.
  • Add the fried chicken pieces. Stir well with medium high heat for few seconds.
  • Add the tosted sesame seeds and spring onions and stir well.
  • Garnish with extra sesame seeds and cut spring onions.
  • Crispy Sesame Chicken is ready! Serve immediately.
  • Perfect with a bowl of steamed rice or a stir-fry noodle. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

  • Which oil is best for deep frying?  Use neutral flavour oil like sunflower, canola, grapeseed, peanut, or vegetable oil for deep frying.
  • Baked Sesame Chicken? Can you air fry the chicken pieces? Deep frying tastes best but you can spray or brush cooking oil on the coated chicken pieces generously. Fry it in an air fryer or bake in the oven until crispy golden brown. 
  • Making for a crowd? You can simply double or triple ingredients. 
  • Corn/Potato Starch - Use corn starch or potato starch instead of regular plain flour to achieve a crispy coating texture. 

Nutrition

Calories: 396kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 1884mg | Potassium: 748mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 198IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @KhinsKitchen or tag #KhinsKitchen!
« Beef and Noodles Stir Fry
Spicy Basil Chicken »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jacob says

    September 17, 2023 at 5:18 pm

    5 stars
    Would i be able to deep fry the chicken a second time for extra crispy chicken?

    Reply
    • Khin says

      September 28, 2023 at 6:42 pm

      Yes, definitely. Fry the coated chicken pieces in the hot oil for 1-2 minutes or until they start to float. Remove from heat and let them cool down for 4-5 minutes. Then fry it back again in the hot oil for super crispy coating texture.

      Reply
  2. Susan Phillips says

    September 05, 2023 at 12:52 am

    5 stars
    I made this tonight after seeing how easy it seemed to prepare. I kept eating the chicken before making the sauce. This is so good and my picky eaters really enjoyed it as well. Thank you. I am going to make the fried rice tomorrow night. So excited.

    Reply
    • Khin says

      September 06, 2023 at 10:48 pm

      So glad that you and your family enjoyed it. Thanks for trying it out and sharing your feedback.

      Reply
  3. Gloria says

    August 02, 2023 at 10:10 pm

    The recipe was easy to follow n the results were great. My family and I enjoyed the taste n they wanted me to cook it again. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

    Reply
    • Khin says

      August 24, 2023 at 10:24 pm

      You are welcome, Gloria. Glad that you enjoyed this recipe.

      Reply
  4. Beverley Kahnt says

    June 20, 2023 at 10:45 pm

    5 stars
    love this recipe! easy and fast:)

    Reply
    • Khin says

      June 26, 2023 at 11:22 pm

      So glad that you enjoyed it, Beverley. Thanks for trying it out and sharing your feedback.

      Reply
  5. Thalia says

    May 24, 2023 at 9:11 am

    5 stars
    I have tried this dish multiple times in restaurants and always loved it! I never expected that I could make it at home and that it would be SO good!!! Highly recommended!

    Reply
    • Khin says

      May 29, 2023 at 11:33 pm

      Yay! Very glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Thalla. Thanks so much for taking the time and sharing feedback.

      Reply
  6. Gary says

    May 06, 2023 at 3:39 pm

    Can I shallow fry the chicken rather than Deep Fry?

    Reply
    • Khin says

      May 08, 2023 at 2:59 pm

      Hi Gary, deep frying tastes best but you can shallow fry or air-fry them too.

      Reply
  7. sebastian says

    April 25, 2023 at 5:45 pm

    5 stars
    very yummy thank you

    Reply
  8. Khrisna Morgan says

    March 28, 2023 at 1:44 am

    5 stars
    This dish did not disappoint!! Even though I was worried at first cause I thought the sauce wasn’t gonna be good then I tossed it in the wok and omg it was amazing!! Loved it my husband did too!!

    Reply
  9. Paul says

    February 10, 2023 at 8:56 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious 👍🏼😋👍🏼 served it with mushroom and egg fried rice 😋

    Reply
  10. Alicia says

    January 15, 2023 at 1:20 am

    5 stars
    This recipe was amazing! I added some veggies to it, otherwise I made it just as the recipe states. Thanks for sharing recipes for us to try.

    Reply
    • Khin says

      January 22, 2023 at 11:10 pm

      So glad that you enjoyed it, Alica! Thanks for sharing feedback with us.

      Reply
  11. Kieran J says

    July 18, 2022 at 8:20 am

    This is delicious and I’ve changed it up a bit by adding half a tablespoon of Gochujang to the sauce to give it a bit of heat. Another excellent recipe.

    Reply
    • Khin says

      July 23, 2022 at 11:17 pm

      Sounds delicious with Gochujang. Happy that you enjoyed it, Kieran!

      Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar


Image of Khinskitchen

Hi, I'm Khin! This blog is all about my family home cooking recipes. I want to share how to make delicious meals from simplest method with step-by-step cooking videos.

More about me →

Popular Post

  • Sweet and Sour Chicken Hong Kong Style
  • A white bowl containing pasta and chicken with tomatoes sauce and sprinkle with cheese and parsley.
    Spicy Chicken Pasta
  • crispy salt and chilli chicken
    Crispy Salt and Chilli Chicken
  • A white bowl containing stir fried noodles, stir fried vegetables and king prawns on the white tea towel.
    King Prawn Chow Mein
  • crispy shredded chicken
    Crispy Shredded Chicken
  • sweet chilli beef
    Crispy Chilli Beef (with Sweet Chilli)

Asian Take out

  • a plate full of chinese chicken curry and white rice with wooden spoon at the side.
    Chinese Chicken Curry
  • crispy shredded beef
    Crispy Shredded Beef Recipe
  • A plate filled with salt and pepper chips with small bowl of crushed chilli and spring onions to garnish.
    Chinese Salt and Pepper Chips
  • Salt and pepper chicken
    Salt and Pepper Chicken
  • A white bowl containing, Chinese fried rice with eggs, Char siu, prawns, peas, carrots, spring onions.
    Special Fried Rice
  • A white bowl containing fried fish with bell peppers, pineapple, onions, and sweet and sour sauce.
    Sweet and Sour Fish
  • A grey plate containing spicy fried chips topped with sliced chilli and coriander.
    Masala Chips
  • A white plate containing, spicy fried chicken strips, topped with spring onion and sliced chillies.
    Crispy Honey Chilli Chicken

New Recipes

  • A grey plate containing pan-fried prawns with garlic butter sauce, garnished with parsley and lemon wedges.
    Garlic Butter Prawns
  • A white plate containing fried coated king prawns with vegetables and salt and pepper seasonings.
    Crispy Salt and Pepper Prawns
  • A black bowl containing stir fry noodles, ground beef, vegetables and beansprouts.
    Easy Beef Chow Mein
  • Chinese five spice roasted chicken served on the plate with dipping sauce on the side.
    Chinese Five Spice Chicken

Footer

↑ back to top

  • About Me
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

  • Sign Up! for recipe newsletter

  • Contact

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2023 TRENDY MEDIA CREATION LTD