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Enjoy the bold and zesty taste of this flavorful Sesame Chicken. You can prepare it and serve it with a side of rice, broccoli, and anything else that you’d normally eat with such a tasty entree.
Looking for a sweet and savory Asian-inspired meal to make at home for yourself and the family? No need to go get take out chinese! If so, give this Sesame Chicken a try. It’s juicy, tender meat with a flavorful sauce consisting of rice wine vinegar, light brown sugar, sesame oil, and a few other ingredients.
You dont have to use premade chicken!
Prepare Sesame Chicken from scratch with this easy-to-follow recipe below. If you have the right ingredients, you can prepare this meal in five minutes and finish cooking it in 25 minutes, making this an impressive 30-minute meal worth having on a busy night when you don’t have much time to waste. The homemade version of this meal is even better for you! Feel free to serve it with some of your favorite sides, including white rice, vegetable fried rice, or even steamed broccoli.
Why You’ll Love the Chicken with Sesame Sauce
It tastes like takeout without the cost or added oil. It’s a more affordable and healthier version of the dish.
You won’t have to spend too much time in the kitchen to make this delicious Sesame Chicken recipe.
While it tastes good fresh, you can save the leftovers in a container, keep them refrigerated, and then reheat them in the microwave. The food will still taste great.
With advantages like these, it’s no wonder people are making such a flavorful meal like this one more often!
What is the sauce for Sesame Chicken?
The sauce for the chicken is slightly sweet and slightly savory. You’ll use a few different ingredients to prepare it, including light brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, low-sodium soy sauce, and sesame oil. You can also thicken the sauce with a bit of cornstarch.
What type of chicken do I need to use?
It’s best to use cooked popcorn chicken instead of using raw chicken. You can prepare homemade popcorn chicken at home and then deep fry it or fry it in the air fryer. If not, you can buy the frozen kind in your local grocery store, which tends to work best for this recipe.
Can I use chicken breast or chicken thighs?
Yes. If you don’t want to use the frozen popcorn chicken, you can cut chicken thighs or chicken breasts into small pieces and then toss them with some seasonings and cornstarch before cooking the chicken pieces in oil and then covering them with the sauce. You’ll need to cook the chicken before you cover it in the sweet and savory sauce.
Recipe Tips
Make sure to fry the onions, garlic, and chili because it adds a ton of flavor to the sauce that you don’t want to miss out on when making this meal.
Be sure to use low-sodium soy sauce when you’re using the frozen popcorn chicken. Because the chicken itself will already have a lot of sodium in it, you want to be careful by using the low-sodium soy sauce to keep the flavor from becoming too salty and enjoyable.
If you don’t know what type of chili paste you should use, sambal oelek is a great choice.
What to Serve with Sesame Chicken
You can serve the Sesame Chicken with some of your favorite side dishes. You might want to prepare some of the following sides:
–
White Rice – You can buy minute rice, prepare it fresh in a pot yourself, or even use boil-in-bag white rice to serve on the side.
Fried Rice – Combine your cooked white rice with several ingredients, such as eggs, frozen veggies, and soy sauce, to create a tasty fried rice to pair with this chicken.
Steamed Broccoli and Carrots – Both broccoli and carrots taste great when paired with this chicken. You can even add some of the sesame sauce on top of them for added flavor.
How to Store Leftovers
Put your leftovers in a food storage container and seal with an airtight lid. Place your leftovers in the fridge, where they can stay fresh for up to three days. You can quickly reheat the chicken in the microwave to get it hot before enjoying it for lunch or dinner the next day.
Additional Cooks Notes
If you don’t want to use popcorn chicken, which saves a ton of time and energy, you can dice up 1 pound of chicken breast or chicken thighs into 1-inch cubes. Toss the chicken with ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Cook the chicken in ½ inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat until just cooked through (internal temperature 165°F). Drain on a paper-towel-lined plate and then proceed with the sauce directions.
The sauce is truly incredible. Do not skip the step of frying the onions, garlic, and chili, this adds a ton of flavor. You HAVE to use low sodium soy sauce here if you are using premade popcorn chicken. The popcorn chicken itself has enough salt and the dish will be still edible but way too salty. The chili paste I used was sambal oelek.
Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
4 servings
Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
For assembly:
- 1 pound cooked popcorn chicken
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 scallions thinly sliced, white part and green part separated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons chili paste
- sesame seeds for garnish
See Also
Mexican Cornbread RecipeInstructions
If you are using frozen popcorn chicken, cook this per the directions on the back of the packaging first.
In a small bowl, add the brown sugar and the rice wine vinegar, stir to combine.
Place it in the microwave at 15-second intervals, stirring in between until the sugar is melted.
You know it’s ready when the liquid is see-through.
Add the soy sauce and sesame oil, stir to combine.
In a small bowl stir together the water and cornstarch, set aside.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil once hot. Add the white part of the scallions, garlic, and chili paste to the oil and fry it until fragrant, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.
Add the sauce and stir it around, once it starts to bubble, add the cornstarch mixture and stir it in. Once the sauce has thickened, 30 seconds, add the cooked chicken and toss to combine.
Garnish with the green part scallions and sesame seeds, serve immediately.
ENJOY!
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