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. Ā
If youāre craving some amazing Chinese food or are just in the mood for something different, donāt 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 350Ā°F or 177Ā°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
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
I can’t get the batter to “stick” to the chicken. What am I doing wrong?
Leslie – sounds to me like the batter was too thin. Next time try adding less water to the batter.
Looks amazing – I think I know what I’m having for my birthday dinner.
Fantastic! I just used your breaded chicken recipe with the marinade, and it turned out sooooo good! My husband was so happy he gave me an “A” on his birthday dinner. We cheated and used a spicy orange sauce by panda express. (I love Costco) Great recipe- great descriptions. We’ll be making this again. š
this is more like sweet and sour chicken. not sesame. still good though
Hi Bobby,
I had the same questions as the person who wrote the below but you answered him through private email – Please Post your answer so we can all benefit from it. Thanks
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 ! !
Lisa – Chicken base is found in powdered form it looks much like powdered chicken boullion. If you cannot find it, about 1/2 cup of chicken broth will work as well. Also, instead of the wine, use a sweet juice such as grape juice or cherry. Enjoy.
Omgosh, this was freakin’ amazing!! I used chicken boullion and grape juice instead and had to skip on the sesame oil. It ended up more like sweet and sour chicken, but it was still great! The hubs and I was eating the chicken before I had made the sauce, it was just that good. Thanks for the tasty recipe! Will definitely try your others š
OMG. Made this last night with a few alterations: Used 1 tsp chicken bouillon 1 tspn water= chicken base. Only had cooking sherry and apple cider vinegar, so I used that instead. Used EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) in a deep pot. Doubled all ingredients for “larger” party. Yes, this was my 1st time making this – a risk that was worth taking. Like others, got scared using the ketchup, and it does taste more like sweet and sour chicken w/sesame seeds, but can I just say, this entire recipe was absolutely AMAZING and got GREAT compliments!!!! I dosed out links to the web site and printed copies as they were leaving.
I make a diffent recipe from various sites each time I make this, so as to hopefully find a good one eventually. So far this one rates highly. I made the sauce using the ketchup the first batch, and was very aprehensive as to what it was going to taste like. Well as it turned out, I was pleasntly surprised with the flavour. You really do have to watch out for that fine line between too much ketchup versus not enough honey though.
I then decided to make a second batch using a modified sauce that was a little more spicy for people who like it that way,(and because i’m too snobby to use lowly ketchup in cooking ;o) ). I made it pretty much the same, but doubled up all quantities. Instead of using ketchup, I replaced its recommended amount with half as much Sriracha hot chili sauce, (available almost anywhere…Huy Fong Foods…Rosemead CA…huyfong.com) That made it look and flavour exactly the same, but spiced it up beautifully. It is a fairly hot chili sauce, but not overwhelming….delicious. Experiment with the quantity starting very low and add more if needed. I also added a tiny amount of cornstarch to thicken it up just a bit. Just add a little at a time as you’re heating it, giving it a chance to heat and thicken before adding more. I started with about a half a teaspoon. Thanks for the great recipe, this one’s a keeper.
I made this tonight for dinner it was awesome, the whole family loved it. Made a few alterations out of necessity… Didn’t have chicken base, so used a tsp of chicken flavoring from concentrate,and used red wine vinegar instead of fruity wine. I also added a few drops of sesame oil to the sauce… I did not use a deep fryer, just a large skillet filled with a 1/2 inch oil. I will definitely make this again, it was so good!!! Thanks for the recipe.
Hi, I live remotely in NC and worry that I will not find Semame oil? I have never used it,,, is it available in most grocery stores?
Susan – Yes, you should be able to find it at most grocery stores in the Asian section. A super walmart or econo foods should have it for sure.
Thank you! I can’t find good sesame tofu in my area, and this is satisfying my craving. Perfect restaurant-style sauce…
I follow your blog, and i am such a fan of your recipes. They are scrumptious and incredibly unique. Thank you so much- and please keep posting!
P.s.- do you have a cookbook out?
I made this recipe for the first time. I can say finally a dinner my whole family including kids kept complimenting rather then hearing a complaint out of someone. The only thing I can say is I had to quadruple the recipe and the directions makes an incredibly small skimpy amount. My picky teen high fived me three times tonight for making this and the whole family voted I make the rest tomorrow with the leftover chicken still sitting in the marinade that didn’t get cooked tonight. Good Job on this recipe, I will have to check out your others.
I made this today… it was amaaaaaaaaaaaaazing i cant wait till tomorrow to eat the rest!!!! Perfect recipe!!!!
Its so great my bf and i enjoyed it. thank you for posting this recipe š
I’m doing a school project and i need permission to use your recipe for the project… Is this ok with you please reply.
Timothy- Yes, you have my permission. Goodluck with your project.
This looks great & easy to cook. We don’t do wine in our family. What else can I use to give it a good flavor. I want to make it soon & often
Carolyn- grape juice, cherry juice will work as well. Enjoy.
Would it be ok if I used peanut oil to fry it in? I wonder if that would bring out more “chinese” flavor?
Gail – peanut oil would taste great if you used it for this recipe.
I haven’t tried this recipe but I want to thank you for posting it. Being a military spouse it can be frustrating to find a good restaurant only to have to move three or four years laters and not being able to find the same quality of food. While living in Maryland there is a Chinese place that makes what I think is the BEST Sesame Chicken… only since moving six years ago I haven’t found anything close to it. I’ve been looking for a great recipe to make Sesame Chicken and if it tastes as good as the picture I think I’ve found it. I will post again as soon as give it a try. Thank you!!!
An update to my previous post… tonight I finally had a chance to give this recipe a try and I have to say good bye take out!! This was the BEST recipe for sesame chicken I have ever found. My husband who has never been a huge fan of this dish even said it was amazing! Thank you so much for this recipe. I haven’t been able to find good sesame chicken and now I can make it whenever I desire.
Can I use sherry cooking wine?
Tina – Yes, sherry will work just fine.
Delicious! I made this for my family and it was AWESOME! They absolutely LOVED it! So glad I found it! Thank YOU!
Hey,
I’m not quite old enough to buy wine, do you happen to have a substitute?
I just looked up this recipe and made it… Came out very GREAT and it didnt take long to make at all. Thank you for the recipe my family loved it š I didnt use the wine, i substituted it with Teriyaki sauce and it all blended lovely. š
Tracie š
What if you dont have a deep fryer or a wok? i wanna make this in a few days.
Rob – just use a deep skillet.
I just made this recipe today and all I can say is, thank you!
This is probably one of the most addictive chicken recipes I’ve ever tried! I didn’t even get to the part of warming the sauce, I already had everybody stealing chicken pieces and dipping them in the sauce as is. I didn’t have any raspberry wine, but I used Cointreau. The slight citrus flavor was perfect. By the way, one must be careful with the salt here, it’s one of those recipes where it can easily take over. Thanks again!
This recipe looks like the BEST sesame chicken I ever had in Connecticut and haven’t been able to find anywhere else. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks for this amazing recipe! The batter for the chicken was what impressed me. It was perfect! The chicken pieces came out light and fluffy and thanks to the marinade..the chicken by itself was so tasty. I made this recipe with 2 large chicken breasts and it was enough for my family of 6. I had to double the sauce though. The scallions did make a huge difference in the taste. My kids..10 and 7 absolutely loved it! The whole family showered me with compliments all throughout dinner. The biggest surprise was that the kids even wanted me to pack the leftover chicken for their lunchboxes for school. They’re usually picky eaters. Awesome recipe. It’s a keeper!
looks so yummy.
i’m going to try it for tuesday night’s dinner
š CTFxC FTW!
This was amazing!!! I used pork instead and doubled the glaze. My husband was floored and that is saying something for him since he is sooooo picky.
this looks sooo tasty. i just stumbled upon your blog and im telling you, it was love on first sight :p your recipes are awesome!
I decided to try something different tonight, I searched chicken recipe on Google and I came across your recipe! I am so very please with how wonderful the chicken was. I have never cooked any kind of Chinese food but enjoy cooking so many other things. I want to thank you for posting such an amazing recipe, I would love to have more of your spectacular food. Thanks again Bobby!
If anyone is wondering if they should try this recipe out, I strongly suggest YES!!!! Try it, it’s delightful!
Just made this last night for dinner. It was amazing and my entire family loved it. You have to try this recipe. Thank you Bobby.
That was Delicious and it wasn’t very hard to make i made it for my family tonight and they loved it!
Very Nice Recipe I will Make This for many years. š
I can’t wait to try this out, sesame chicken is my favorite food and every time I go to the mall I force my parents to buy me some. Yesterday, my dad insisted that I learn how to make it myself considering he’s probably spent hundreds of dollars on it over the years… (LOL, oops(:) Sooo, I googled it and this came up. I hope this isn’t a hard recipie to follow, I haven’t really cooked much before, the last time I did I accidently forgot to strain the noodles I was boiling when they were finished… haha… Thats why I stick to baking. I hope this turns out okay! Thanks so much for the post & I’ll be sure to suscribe(:
My family loves this recipe. When my hard drive died in my computer I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to find it again. This is the same recipe yet I found it on a website before which also contained the recipe for the spring rolls I usually make with the chicken & rice. My kids call this recipe “once upon a time chicken” because the first time I made it I made 10lbs of it and it was all gone. So they say once upon a time we had some of the amazing chicken.
This recipe looks greag, I need to make something for dinner tonight; however, I don’t have the chicken base, seaseme oil .. is that okay ?
Minal- that is fine, it should still come out good.