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. Â
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
-
-
Marinate the chicken. In a bowl, mix marinade ingredients. Add chicken pieces and cover. Marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
-
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.
-
Batter chicken. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture, then into the flour. Repeat the process with all of the chicken.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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 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!!!!