This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
A staple of any Chinese restaurant in the United States is sesame chicken. It is sweet and savory has a satisfying crunch when correctly prepared. That same delicious restaurant- style kosher sesame chicken can also be made in your home.
What Kind Of Chicken To Use For Sesame Chicken
A lot of fried chicken recipes call for using chicken thighs but we prefer using the chicken breast. While we do like chicken thighs for grilling and oven roasting, we prefer the breast for frying. Thighs can tend to get stringy and dried out during frying while the chicken breasts stay moist and juicy.
How To Make Kosher Sesame Chicken
This recipe is pretty quick to put together. The tempura batter gives the fried chicken the light and delicious crunch while the sticky, savory yet sweet sauce coats the chicken and makes it taste addictingly delicious. If you're looking to lighten the recipe up a bit you can skip frying and saute your chicken in a wok or heavy bottomed pan then coat in the sauce as directed. Perfectly delicious either way.
How To Serve Sesame Chicken
This dish is usually served over steamed white rice but you can also try it over:
- Pasta (spaghetti or angel hair)
- Pan fried noodles
- Quinoa
- Wilted spinach
- Couscous
- Zucchini noodles
- Fried rice
Sesame Chicken
Equipment
- Sharp Knife
- Cutting Board
- Frying Skimmer
- Wok
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh cut into 1" chunks
- oil for deep frying
Tempura Batter:
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup flour
- 2 egg whites
- ½ cup cold seltzer water
Sesame Chicken Sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ⅓ cup water
- 4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil divided
- ½ tablespoon sesame seeds
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- ¼ cup scallions
Instructions
- In a large, heavy bottom saucepan heat 3 inches of oil to 350º-360ºF. While oil is heating prepare tempura batter and sesame chicken sauce.
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients for tempura batter together until just combined. Add chicken and coat chicken on all sides.
- In a separate bowl mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, corn starch, water, 2 teaspoon sesame oil, and sesame seeds until combined.
- Fry chicken in batches to not overcrowd pan. Cook chicken for approximately 7 minutes until a nice golden brown color. Drain on cooling rack.
- Once chicken is cooked, in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat, add 2 teaspoon sesame oil, minced garlic, and crushed red pepper. Cook for 30 seconds being careful not to burn. Pour in the sauce and stir as it thickens. This does not take long! Turn off heat and dump in chicken and toss to coat.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions and enjoy. Yum!