Updated on November 24th, 2024
I first discovered Sesame Chicken when I was eating at a Chinese buffet. The juicy chicken and the amazing sauce had me hooked from the first bite. I knew right then that I had to make this at home. After trying a couple different recipes, I came up with one that I enjoyed the most.
I garnished this dish with the traditional sesame seeds and sliced scallions. The scallions play a big role in adding flavor to this recipe.
Another great flavor enhancer is the marinade. The marinade is basically a fruity wine and chicken base combination. It adds great flavor to the chicken and makes it very moist coming out of the deep fryer.
If you’re craving some amazing Chinese food or are just in the mood for something different, don’t be afraid to give this recipe a try.
Sesame Chicken Recipe
Sesame chicken is a tangy, crispy favorite for anyone who loves Chinese buffet.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Marinade Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 90 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 teaspoon chicken base
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- ground white pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon raspberry wine
Chicken
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 eggs beaten
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- oil for frying
Sauce
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup soy sauce (reduced sodium if possible)
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
Instructions
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Marinate the chicken. In a bowl, mix marinade ingredients. Add chicken pieces and cover. Marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
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Prep batter. Place the eggs, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Stir to combine. In a separate shallow bowl, mix flour and 1/2 cup cornstarch.
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Batter chicken. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture, then into the flour. Repeat the process with all of the chicken.
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Fry chicken. Heat 3 inches of oil in a deep pan to 350°F or 177°C. Add 7 to 8 pieces of chicken to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Drain the chicken pieces on paper towels. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken.
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Make the sauce. While the chicken is cooking, combine the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in a bowl. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the honey sauce mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until just thickened.
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Combine and serve. Add the crispy chicken to the pan and toss to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions, then serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 617
- Sugar: 33.6 g
- Sodium: 1733.7 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Carbohydrates: 67 g
- Protein: 45.8 g
- Cholesterol: 217.1 mg
I love sesame chicken it’s one of my favorite so I was looking up some recipes and I came across this one it looks really good and I read all the compliments people were giving you on it so I went out to get all the ingredients and I can’t find the chicken base. So can you tell me what store I can find it in or can I just do it without the chicken base? I cannot wait to make this and thanks for the recipe!!!
Melissa- search Google for, “better than bouillon chicken base” and you will see what it is. You should be able to find it at a super Wal-Mart or other grocery locations. If not, you can just leave it out.
This recipe was a winner for my family they are going to now expect this dish for dinner at least once every 2 months.
I made this chicken last night. I added 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce and 1/4 teaspoon seasame oil to the sauce, and it was the best sesame chicken I ever ate in my life, my 10 year old loved it. thanks for this receipe, I will be using it the rest of my life!
What is a chicken base?
legal mind- Chicken base is a powder that is used to make chicken broth. It is yellow in color and comes in a plastic jar. You should be able to find it at most grocery stores. If you can’t find it, crushed chicken Bouillon cubes will work as well. I hope this helps and you enjoy the recipe. Thanks.
Tried it and loved it!
GOING TO MAKE IT. LOOKS GREAT!
Made it today. Surprised it was so DELICIOUS. thanks for the recipe!!!
I’ve noticed a few comments about people thinking they can’t do this recipe without a deep fryer. My dad owns a chinese fast food restaurant and he deep fries all of his chicken and pork in a large wok filled with oil. He uses his deep fryer for egg rolls. LOL!
I made this recipe, but subbed out the chicken for scallops, cut lobster, and crab and threw in some bamboo and a few table spoons of sake’. AMAZING. (The original recipe is great, too!)
I made this tonight and followed the recipe exactly other than I tripled the recipe for 6 people. It was AMAZING! Thank you so much for this recipe. My husband and children are in heaven right now!
Oh my word – we cooked this tonight and our children (6,11,and 13) raved about it – thought it was better than the chinese restaurant!! So its a winner – thanks – we didn’t have the exact raspberry wine – so we used sherry – which worked out lovely! Our result was EXACTLY the same as your picture… a million thanks from Sydney, Australia.
Bobby- I was wondering on the chicken? When you say 2 large breast do you mean the double breast or just 2 large half breast? about how much would that weigh? i need to know cause I bought tenders instead? thanks so much. btw this is a amazing receipe!
April Meyer- It means 2 large half breasts. I cannot guess the weight, chicken breasts can come in all different sizes. Sorry.
I doubled the receipe and used 2 lbs of chicken. worked out great! thanks again, for the delish receipe, and I have shared with many, and they all love it. You have a receipe for those lo mein noodles you eat at the buffet? I attempted with some poncit noodles, but wasnt the same 🙁
April Meyer – I am glad you enjoyed this recipe. I do have a recipe for Lo Mein Noodles but it is probably going to taste different than the buffet versions. You can find it here- https://blogchef.net/vegetable-lo-mein-recipe/
Simply by the picture, I knew I had to make this. And thank goodness I did. It was AMAZING!! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. Did have to the sauce a bit since my mother didnt really like it too sweet but to me it was perfect! THANK YOU!!
how many does this feed?
jacob – I would say if you serve this with rice, it would serve 4.
We’ve come back to this recipe many times…the best! Thanks!
Absolutely wonderful recipe… made it for dinner last night and ended up having to cook another batch because everyone wanted more… Thanks so much
Only recently I began to learn how to cook and I want to learn new things. I cook a lot with soy sauce and I would like to start using sesame oil. I really want to make this recipe. Thank you for this recipe.
Do you have a recipe that isn’t too sweet? Mine turned out more like sweet and sour chicken. Perhaps I can use less sugar or something.
Just made this recipe, but, I stir fried some green peppers, red peppers, mushrooms, onions, garlic, carrots, whole almonds and pineapple chunks then added the sauce, then the chicken. GLORY! that is so good! Oh and I added a tbsp of hot chill sauce to the sauce. Magnificent! I know I went a bit over board with the stir fry but I cannot help myself, I love stir fries and I’m willing to try out new ideas anytime.Thanks for the recipe.
Wow! Great recipe and easy instructions. Thank you for sharing! Will be making this for my family. I made this for friends and we all gobbled it up. 🙂
Hello. What brand of wine did you use?
DENA – I used a homemade wine for this recipe when I made it.
hye thanks a lot… i loved it .. my family liked this dish very much.. thank you very much…superbb… bye
Quick question. It appears to make a very, very time amount of marinade (less than 2 Tablespoons). Is that correct? I’m getting ready to make this tonight, but that just seems like such a small amount. Thanks!
Yes, that is correct.
not a wine drinker can I sub this for something else ?
You could just try adding water or chicken broth in its place to the marinade.
I have been eyeballing this recipe for a long time. Your batter has always been my go-to for Ameri-Chinese food since I discovered it a few years ago. You just can’t beat it! But, I was a little turned off by the idea of using ketchup. So this recipe has sat around and sat around on my bookmarks list until I ran out of rice vinegar and had already announced asian food night for dinner with my mother has always eyed anything takeout flavored with suspicion and resentment.
She absolutely loved this, and I did too! I prepared myself for the worst when I handed her the plate, but she gave it back clean. I’m very impressed as it is so cheap and tastes so good, and I think it has a taste profile that most people can appreciate even if they aren’t a huge takeout fan.
Anyways, this is a really long winded way to say thanks for sharing this and for all the recipes on this blog. I am not the best cook, but anything I have ever made from here has always turned out great.
I am glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I have made this dish so many times now… it has become a staple, in fact, it made me venture into many other chinese dishes from this one alone. But I gotta say.. I like quick. I made it where I only drizzle some sesame oil on the chicken as a marinade, and then leave the oil out of the batter. I fry in coconut oil and keep the sauce as is… its a few steps easier (I have no doubt the original is amazing) but so is my version so if any of the marinade steps keep you from trying this, skip it! Its still one of the best recipes I have ever come across!! Delicious!
Hey! I’ve been making this for years now. I decided to make it this weekend and came back to the recipe and the chicken marinade part in the ingredients and instructions is gone? I would love to still be able to make this the original way 🙁
Is there anyway to get the original recipe that has been up for years? I’ve been making this for so long and this isnt the original recipe ?
@Ashley, Did you find the original yet?
Why did this recipe change? I had it saved and lost the copy I had printed. This had a marinade before with wine. What happened here?
There is no ingredients or measurements for the marinade.
Hi Jenn,
The change was not intentional. I have updated the recipe to include the original marinade ingredients.
Catherine
Lori,
The marinade ingredients have been added back.
Catherine