Sesame chicken is one of the most popular dishes on the menu at any Chinese takeout restaurant or buffet. Deep-fried boneless chicken coated in a savory sweet sauce and topped with toasted sesame seeds? It’s a favorite here in America.
If you don’t mind a little deep-frying, sesame chicken is easy to make at home. The best part is that you get more chicken than most restaurant versions, which are heavy on the batter and light on chicken, and our recipe has the perfectly balanced sauce—not too sweet, no artificial coloring, and a fresh taste without the car trip from the restaurant!
This recipe is almost exactly the same as the version in our cookbook, The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know & Love from a Chinese American Family. I made a couple minor tweaks that are really more a matter of preference than anything else. The cookbook has so many more delicious recipes in it that we ourselves return to again and again. We hope you check it out!
White or Dark Meat Chicken?
The best choice for sesame chicken is boneless skinless chicken thighs. The dark meat has higher fat content, which translates into more flavor than chicken breast/white meat.
For this reason, chicken thighs are more widely used to make sesame chicken in Chinese restaurants. That said, if you prefer chicken breast or it’s all you have on hand, feel free to use it.
Whatever cut of chicken you decide on, be sure to follow our directions on marinating and velveting it first.
The Keys to Chicken That Stays Crispy
This sesame chicken stays crispy even after it’s sat out for a bit. There are a few key steps to achieve this.
First, we add cornstarch and baking soda to the batter, which create a light, crispy texture. Second, we actually fry the chicken twice. If you’ve made our Chinese Fried Chicken Wings or any other fried recipe on our site, you’ve likely encountered this extra step before.
Double frying the chicken with a rest in between is an important technique. The first fry cooks the chicken and the batter through. Letting the chicken rest after the first fry allows the juices of to settle back into the chicken.
The second time, you fry the chicken for much less time because the goal is just to crisp the coating, without as much of the moisture release that occurs during the first fry. The result is a sesame chicken that’s crispy on the outside and moist/juicy on the inside.
Not a fan of Frying?
If you don’t like to deep-fry at home, try our baked version!
Sesame Chicken Recipe Instructions
In a bowl, combine the chicken pieces with 2 tablespoons of water, Shaoxing wine, salt, sesame oil, MSG (if using), white pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
Once the chicken has marinated, add the cornstarch, flour, the remaining 6 tablespoons of water, neutral oil, and baking soda. Mix thoroughly to evenly coat the chicken.
Make the sauce mixture by combining the hot chicken stock (or water), sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and white pepper.
Heat 3 inches (8cm) of oil in a wok or medium deep pot to 335°F/170°C. Carefully drop the chicken pieces into the oil in two or more batches. The oil temp will drop, so adjust the heat to compensate until it comes back up to 335°F/170°C on an instant read thermometer. Fry until light golden brown, stirring and flipping the chicken occasionally—about 5 to 6 minutes per batch. Transfer to a wire rack or plate lined with paper towels to drain.
Once all of the chicken has been fried once, let the chicken rest for 5 to 10 minutes and heat the oil to 335°F/170°C once again. Fry the chicken a second time until crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes. You can fry in larger batches since the chicken won’t stick together.
Heat a clean wok over medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons of your frying oil along with the minced garlic. After a few seconds, add the sauce mixture and bring to a simmer.
Gradually add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce, stirring constantly, until it’s just thick enough to coat a spoon.
Toss the fried chicken in the wok to coat it in the sauce.
Serve, garnished with toasted sesame seeds.
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Recipe
Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast (cut into 1-inch/2.5cm pieces)
- 8 tablespoons water (divided)
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon MSG (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (plus more for frying)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
For the sauce:
- ¾ cup hot chicken stock or water
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1½ tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon clear rice wine or Shaoxing wine
- 1½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1½ teaspoons rice vinegar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed into a slurry with 1 tablespoon water)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the chicken pieces with 2 tablespoons of water, Shaoxing wine, salt, sesame oil, MSG (if using), white pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Once the chicken has marinated, add the cornstarch, flour, the remaining 6 tablespoons of water, neutral oil, and baking soda. Mix thoroughly to evenly coat the chicken.
- Make the sauce mixture by combining the hot chicken stock (or water), sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and white pepper.
- Heat 3 inches (8cm) of oil in a wok or medium deep pot to 335°F/170°C. Carefully drop the chicken pieces into the oil in two or more batches. The oil temp will drop, so adjust the heat to compensate until it comes back up to 335°F/170°C on an instant read thermometer. Fry until light golden brown, stirring and flipping the chicken occasionally—about 5 to 6 minutes per batch. Transfer to a wire rack or plate lined with paper towels to drain.
- Once all of the chicken has been fried once, let the chicken rest for 5 to 10 minutes and heat the oil to 335°F/170°C once again. Fry the chicken a second time until crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes. You can fry in larger batches since the chicken won’t stick together.
- Heat a clean wok over medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons of your frying oil along with the minced garlic. After a few seconds, add the sauce mixture and bring to a simmer. Gradually add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce, stirring constantly, until it’s just thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Toss the fried chicken in the wok to coat it in the sauce. Serve, garnished with toasted sesame seeds.
