Sesame Chicken Recipe
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 and after trying a couple different recipes, I came up with one that I enjoyed the most. As you might have noticed I garnished this dish with not only the traditional sesame seeds but sliced scallions as well. I feel 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.
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
2 green onions (sliced)
Marinade-
1 teaspoon chicken base
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sesame oil
ground white pepper (to taste)
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon raspberry wine (or any fruity flavored wine)
Batter-
½ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg (beaten)
½ cup water (or as much as needed to make batter smooth)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Sauce-
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sugar
salt (to taste)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
a sprinkle of ground black pepper
Cooking Instructions:
Step 1: Cut chicken breasts into 1” chunks and in a glass bowl combine all of the marinade ingredients and mix well. Add the chicken and coat evenly. Cover and marinade for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Step 2: Meanwhile, in separate bowl combine all of the batter ingredients and mix thoroughly. The batter should be thick enough to coat the chicken but thin enough to flow around the pieces. Set aside.
Step 3: Using a fork or tongs remove the pieces of chicken from the marinade and dip them into the batter to coat evenly (one by one). Deep fry the chicken in batches in your deep fryer for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. (or you can fry in hot oil at about 325 degrees in your wok for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown)
Step 4: In your wok combine the sauce ingredients and warm over medium heat. Bring to a boil while stirring and simmer until sauce slightly thickens.
Step 5: In the wok or in a serving dish coat chicken with the sauce and garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.
Tags: cooking, recipes, food and drink, recipe
[...] Bobby wrote a fantastic post today on “Sesame Chicken Recipe”Here’s ONLY a quick extractThe 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 and after trying a couple different recipes, I came up with one that I enjoyed the […] [...]
[...] 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 and after trying a couple different recipes, I came up with one that I enjoyed the […]Read More [...]
You wanna ruin my diet? Huh? Good, keep going. Feels good.
haha, sorry Schubsta, I just can’t stop!
This looks just too good *not* to make. Who needs take out?
haha, it’s really great. Who does need take out? Thanks for the comment Donaald.
The recipe carnival is up at Expatriate’s Kitchen. Thanks for participating.
that looks amazing, and sesame chicken is one of my fiance’s favorites! i don’t have a deep fryer though — do you think a sauteed version would work?
Katy- don’t worry, not having a deep fryer is no problem. A sauteed version would work just fine. Just add about 1/2″ of oil to your pan and fry away until golden brown. Let me know how it turns out.
Don’t know many folks with a deep fryer. glad you can have it sautéed. I’ve been turned off by beef lately.
Great stuff, I made this for dinner last night and it turned out very well. I used a berry port wine for the marinade. Thanks for the recipe I will use it again
Adam – Thanks, I’m glad you liked it. Berry port sounds very good for the marinade. Many more great recipes to come.
I love meat covered in batter and deep fried, but this recipe leaves me with one question:
What kind of oil to use for frying, so you get the best taste to the chicken ?
GFYM – I would recommend you use peanut oil for frying. Enjoy the recipe.
I am trying to find a recipe for the mushroom chicken that you find on the buffets.
Thanks
LB – Sorry, not sure exactly what you are referring to. I will look around though.
This is a wonderful recipe! I have tried this many times and it’s always a sure winner at the dinner table. It’s absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing! Please visit my website http://www.ravingrecipes.com
That looks so great. Can’t wait to try it. I love Chinese take out, but it gets pricy when you want variety.
Foodaholic – You’re right, take out can get expensive… this is so much better though. Let me know how it turns out.
I made this recipe tonight. It was awesome. Instead of 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, I used a 1.25 lb package of chicken breast tenders and cubed those. Turned out to be about 50 pieces. I also doubled the sauce. I will definitely be making this one again!
Pat – I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. Stick around because there’s many more good ones to come.
I really am excited by this recipe. I’ve been trying to make sesame chicken for a while, all the recipes came up lacking. This seems promising, may have to cook it tomorrow.
Russell – Thanks. If you’re looking for a great sesame chicken recipe, this is it. I hope you like it and let me know how it turns out.
Bobby, I may have missed it, but how long did this recipe take to make you total? I want to give myself enough time. I got the 1/2 hour for marinade and 10 min for frying. What about all the prep work? Thanks for the great recipe. Sesame chicken is one of my favorite.
apple – I would say about an hour and a half. I hope you enjoy the recipe – let me know how it turns out.
This sounds amazing! I would like to make it for dinner tonight and was wondering how many people this would serve.
Laura – I would say this would probably serve 2 if they are decent eaters. I hope you enjoy it.
Hi Bobby,
Man your one looks even better than the one that we get in the resturant (im talking about the picture)
My question is, whats a chicken base ? can i get it at shoprite ?
Furthermore, I got religious issues with wine (alcohol) so is there any alternative that you might suggest ? or can I just skip that ! ?
Would love if you could reply back to my email
Thanks ! !
This recipe is the closest to restaurant style that I could find. I added some chopped onion to the sauce and it was great tasting. The whole family enjoyed. Thank you! This one is a keeper. I can’t wait to make it again
Tahsin – Thanks! I sent you an eamil.
Jen – Great, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I made this tonight, except with 6 large scallops and family friendly fruit punch.
My family loved it, but next time I think I’ll double or triple the sauce recipe (there was enough for 6 scallops, but not much more).
I changed the chicken for beef (I am allergic )
This recipe is wonderfull !!!!
This is awesome! It is my favorite recipe for this meal! It’s better than what you get in the resturaunts!
Hi Bobby
That’s amazing! oh I just want to eat it I am a big fan of sesame chicken i will try this veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery
soon
BOBBY is that possible u can send me more chiness recipes
Hi,
I love it, but for religiouse reasons what can I use instead of wine.
Hira Shaikh – I have many more Chinese recipes on my blog and many more to come. Subscribe to my RSS feed to recieve future recipes. You can see my site map for a list of all the recipes on here.
Baidaa – You can use any fruity juice, such as grape or cherry. Enjoy.
Hey, your recipe looks great! I love sesame chicken but so far I haven’t been able to find a recipe I really liked. I’m excited to try yours though!
just a quick question though,
What is chicken base and where can I get it?
Jasmin – 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.
Hello Bobby,
Great blog! I will try this recepie on saturday. The only problem I have is the unit of measure… I moved to Germany and they dont know sesame chicken at all. I’m glad to find a recepie online that sticks to the “restaurant style” Thank you!
This is a great recipe. I often make a homeade General Tso’s chicken with a similar recipe. The only major differences are the addition of hot peppers, & the use of boneless/skinless chicken thighs. Great for people that crave a spicy touch. Now I can alternate between the 2 recipes!
how many serving does 2 chicken breasts make?
Josh – I would say about 2.
Just made your recipe. I used cranberry grape juice instead of the wine. It was really good.
Thank you for posting it.
This recipe is AMAZING!!! Both of my children, 1 and 3, asked for seconds, and that never happens. My husband said that it was better than any Chinese take-out food he had ever eaten. Since I am a soy sauce addict, I added 2 tablespoons to the sauce, but the rest of the recipe I followed exactly. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe…it is delish!
Wow this recipe is delicious I also added teriyaki sauce to the marinate and its delicious I would have never thought this recipe would be as close as the real thing!! thankssss so much this is deffinley going to be a favorite!!!
This recipe looks incredible. I have never made sesame chicken but it looks delicious- your pix are great, mouth-watering.
Too bad that I don’t have chicken base. Actually I don’t know what this is. I don’t think, this is availabe in the shop here. How about chicken stock instead of chicken base?
Good recipe. I substituted cranberry juice for the wine, but did everything else as directed. Thanks for posting this.
That looks delicious, just one question – what is chicken base?
UK Foodie – 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.
making this recipe right now, but i dont have any wine. i substituted with pineapple juice, hope it turnes out alright….
this looks verryyy goood.
i hope to try it soon.
I think LB’s talking about Moo Goo Gai Pan, right? It translates as “mushroom sliced chicken” Anywho, great recipe!
Great recipe can’t wait to try it.
Just a little tip to those who have issues with wine. when you add heat to anything containing alcohol the alcohol will evaporate.
Bobby, thanks for the Cashew Chicken replies. Since you responded so quickly I think I need to comment about something of yours I HAVE tried.
I’ve done this recipe three times, and its delicious. Be careful when measuring your honey and ketchup though, the problem I ran into on my first batch was I had too much ketchup because of how its easier to measure than honey. So make sure you keep the ratio right. When I cook recipes it feeds an entire household of 6 people. And everyone loves this recipe, thanks Bobby.
Just tried tonight. This is an excellent recipe!!! A
yum, was really good, made it for dinner!!
what kind of oil would i use if i dont have a deep fryer? and how would i do it? thanks
Zac – I would recommend peanut oil, but canola oil would work as well. If you dont have a deep fryer, I would fry the chicken bits in about 1″ of oil in your frying pan.
Tried this a few weeks ago, LOVED IT! Needed to make little bit more sauce though. In my opinion it is better than the restaurant! Thanks for an easy and delicious recipe!
Among the varieties of different recipes I have tried on the net, your remains the best. I have had this printed and posted on the fridge since it came out. I make this at least once every two weeks. Perfection man, perfection..
Steve – Great, I am glad you are enjoying it!
Thanks for the recipe. We are vegan in our house but have been looking for a good sesame sauce recipe. This one takes the egg-less cake!
We serve it over rice with steamed broccoli, peppers, carrots, and onions. So good! Thanks a lot!
OH MY GOSH!! This was wonderful! I am not a good cook (according to my husband) but he loved this dish! He even had seconds, which is uncommon. This recipe was very easy to follow and ended up looking just like the photo. Thanks so much.
I made this dish last night and it was great!! I had been craving sesame chicken, but didn’t want to go to any of the Asian restaurants in my area b/c they are a little suspect…
I tweaked the sauce ingredients a little by adding: a little sesame oil, little more honey, some raw sugar, a little soy, and some crushed red pepper flakes(I like heat). I also toasted the sesame seeds. The chicken base I used was more of a paste – but it worked just fine. I was worried the marinate wasn’t enough, but it turned out to be perfect!
I plan on making this again and again and again! Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Turned out amazing!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
just a quick question..about how many would you say this recipe serves?
amanda – I would say this recipe makes 2 servings.
I found this recipe last week and I am amazed and awed by how tasty it was! Thanks so much for a new recipe to add to my collection!
Oh, wow. That looks amazing! Great photos!
Great! I’ve been hoping to find a recipe that sounds like it’ll make sesame chicken that tastes like my favorite local Asian restaurant’s. This looks just like it….fingers crossed..thanks for sharing this!
Just wanted to say that this is a great recipe. I have never cooked chinese before (or really cooked at all…) and you made it so easy! The pics and directions are easy to follow and the results are too yummy, thank you for this great website!
I forgot to mention I added some Wocestershire and soy sauce to give it a little bit more of a salty flavor too!!
I’m Making this as i type this. =] but soo easy to follow cant wait to surprise my boyfriend to this amazing thing!
thank you so much. <3
I just made this recipe for dinner and I loved it. Delicious. I recommend putting a little red pepper to taste at the end to gve it a little zing. I also used peanut oil for the deep frying and medium dry sherry for the wine.
you should call this ketchup-honey chicken. I am an avid chinese food fan and i was really dissapointed by the sauce for this, it did not taste like sesame sauce. I would say that perhaps instead of ketchup use some sesame oil. I have not tried this but I feel that has to be at least close to a solution.
Not to completely bash the recipe because the marinade and breading were absolutely perfect so hopefully you see this as constructive criticism.
I use Pineapple wine from Hawaii and it tastes wonderful.
An important thing to keep in mind is to measure the honey/ketchup EXACTLY. The first time I made it, I was careless and it tasted much like the person above described. However, making sure I let the honey completely drip out made all the difference.
Many have told me in the times I’ve made since the first try that this tastes better than the Buffet’s. You decide
Hey! My family was really wanting a cheap way to make sesame chicken because my dad just lost his job,a friend of ours taught us how to make lo mein really cheap so we wanted this to go along. Is this recipe expensive?
Jordan – Alot of these ingredients are common items you may have on hand, if you do, it shouldn’t be that expensive. If you had to buy everything for this recipe, it would be a little pricy.
mmmm i love sesame chicken my favorite thing about china lol this recipe looks mouth watering
Best recipe ever! Thank you.
thanks alot!! i love to eat chinese food. but i never get to eat it all the time ):
tried this tonight and it was delicious. had only tried it onece before in a mall while visiting the states. used blossom hill california red wine instead and oxo boullion cubes instead of chicken base(which no-one seems to have heard of here in the UK) and it was still delicious even better than the chinese buffet one i had tried. thank you so much for the recipe.
I made this tonight, using a sherry for the wine, and it was fantastic! A lot of work and dishes but well worth it. Didn’t have a wok and just used a high sided frying pan for those that don’t have a wok.
hi i havent tried this yet but……. i cant use any wine in my food…what do u think i just put instead of wine?
Recipe was great don’t know if I made the sauce right though it was extremly sweet. Anyway someone asked about the chicken and mushroom recipe at buffets and you said you didn’t know what hewas talking about. I think he’s asking how to make chicken Marsala
Sean – Just use a fruity juice like grape juice or cherry
I made this last night and it was delicious! I cant wait to make it again!
I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for awhile now and finally tried it tonight. The sauce smelled too ketchupy but that’s my only complaint. It tasted great (not too ketchupy at all)! I only wish I had a wok so I could make it correctly.
Great site, how do I subscribe?
Kelli – Just add your email on the top right side bar under subscribe and you will recieve recipes in your email. Thanks!
On a low-iodine diet and was looking for something different. Getting really sick of grilled chicken. So instead of the chicken base I used no salt added chicken broth and no salt added ketchup. The sauce was a little watery, but otherwise Delicious!!!!!
Hello,,,, thank u for this recipe it came out good…. but one thing… when i smell the chicken it smells like viniger….. but when u eat it u dont taste the viniger? i guess next time i wont add viniger at all lol
I made this recipe for my grown grandchildren, who love sesame chicken and eat it at the best Chinese restaurants we have in our city. They simply raved about it! I was so very pleased!
this recipe was so good exept instead of chicken bace i used chicken cubes i would def recomend this
HY BOBBY,
THIS IS THE BEST RECIPE EVER Y JUST WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THIS CAN BE MADE IN ADVANCE AND FREEZE AND THEN WHAT TO DO TO REHEAT?
THANK YOU
IRIS
iris – I would say this cannot be made in advance. You could make the sauce in advance probably, but I dont recommend the chicken.
hey bobby i was just wondering because in the previous comments, you say this is only good to serves 2 people. there’s 4 in my family, should i just double all the ingredients.
anna- yes, double the recipe. Enjoy~!
Just made it and it was an awesome recipe! The pics were the selling point, but it was really easy to make! Thanks
Awesome! I’ve been looking all over for a simple sesame chicken recipie. I made this using drumsticks and I used molassas instead of honey (figured out too late I was out of honey) but it was STELLAR! Fed me and my two munchkins just fine with 5 drumsticks. Not quite enough sauce I thought, but I would be fairly certain if I’d used the directed amount of chicken I’d have been fine. Thank you for posting this!
god bless this blog. i don’t know what i would do without it. thank you so much for posting the pictures with each step, that helps immensely!
I made this tonite, and it was absolutely fantastic. I used 6 chicken breasts and had to make 5x the amount of sauce, but it was amazing. I had 4 of my neighbors try it as well, just so I could brag it up a bit… DELISH!!!!
delicious! I missed that in Singapore.
this is amazing!!! i tried it when the first batch was done and couldnt stop.lol. i love it!!
OHH WOW!!! ive been meaning to make this for so long, and i finally got around to it and let me tell you..this is DELISH!!! i will definitely be making it more often and sharing the recipe with my friends and family…THANKS!!
I am making this as I am writing hahaha. But so far it looks really good. I was scared when I added the ketchup, but I will see if it works out. I am going to serve this with satuued veggies and some rice. I hope it turns out good. Thank you for the recipie : ) >3