This baked sesame chicken recipe yields deliciously crispy, juicy, and flavorful chicken—without the need for deep-frying! We toss it in a slightly sweet, savory sauce that tastes just like restaurant-style sesame chicken.
NOTE:
This recipe was originally published on October 13, 2015. We have since updated it with higher resolution photos, metric measurements, and more information. The recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
A Super Popular Chinese Takeout Dish
Sesame chicken is a hugely popular dish found on most Chinese restaurant menus, and it’s likely you’ve ordered it at some point.
Perhaps even more likely is that you’ve had it at a Chinese buffet. Every Chinese buffet restaurant has this dish on their steam table, to the point that it’s become as expected as an order of fries at McDonalds.
I have to admit that my parents did not have sesame chicken on their takeout restaurant menu, which of course could mean that they missed the boat when they were menu planning!
Orange Chicken is also a common takeout chicken dish, and if you like it, you can also try our Orange Chicken version cooked with proper aromatic spices. Simply delicious.
From the Chinese Buffet?
I think that one of the reasons my parents didn’t put sesame chicken on their menu is that it has become more popular just in the last 20 to 30 years, as Chinese buffets came into vogue.
I remember when we first moved to New Jersey from upstate New York to open the restaurant, there were no such Chinese buffets anywhere.
At the time, a dear family friend we called Uncle Freddy drove all the way down to New Jersey to sample one of the first Chinese buffet restaurants in the area. It was a big deal—all you can eat, over twenty dishes to choose from, free soda, and dessert included with the meal! Now that was progressive.
During the evolution of the Chinese buffet, some smart guy decided that sesame chicken was going to be one of those twenty core buffet dishes.
Sesame Chicken vs. General Tso’s Chicken
But what is Sesame chicken really?
You’re probably thinking, isn’t it like that General Tso’s chicken? The main difference is that the General likes broccoli with his fried chicken, and he likes it perhaps a litle spicier, with a more tangy flavor, and a darker sauce—and usually no sesame seeds.
Sesame chicken is generally sweeter than General Tso’s chicken, although it still has a taste of vinegar to balance the sweetness of the dish.
Some sesame chicken sauces have a strong one-dimensional ketchup flavor, but our sauce recipe doesn’t use ketchup. It has a bit more complexity, with ingredients like Shaoxing wine, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.
Baked, Not Fried
Today, I’m presenting you with our version of baked sesame chicken, which at Sarah and Kaitlin’s urging, uses the oven fried method for a healthy touch to the dish.
It’s also a bit easier to make than the fried version, and you won’t have leftover oil to contend with (though you can always re-use leftover frying oil!).
I call for boneless skinless chicken thighs here, but you can also use chicken breasts. I think dark meat yields a juicier, tastier sesame chicken though!
Can we call it skinny sesame chicken? Seems like a bit of an overstatement, but we’ll let you decide! You could serve with brown rice or cauliflower rice instead of steamed white rice to up the health factor a bit. Regardless, we doubt you’ll have leftovers!
Looking for the real mccoy sesame chicken (AKA the fried version?)
If you’re not looking for a baked sesame chicken recipe and would rather know how the restaurants do it, we have a deliciously on-point sesame chicken recipe in our cookbook, The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family.
Find out more about our cookbook here and find links to purchase! The book is available wherever books are sold!
Baked Sesame Chicken: Recipe Instructions
Mix the chicken with the cornstarch, sesame paste, salt, and Shaoxing wine and set aside for 20 minutes. Then mix the flour, sesame seeds, and white pepper in a separate bowl. Preheat the oven to 475°F/250°C.
Use your hands to mix the chicken and marinade until there is no standing liquid. Dredge the chicken pieces in the dry mixture, and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or non-stick foil.
Bake at 475°F/250°C for 8 minutes on the top rack. Flip the chicken pieces and broil on low for 3 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven.
Heat your wok to medium heat and add oil and garlic.
Stir for 5 seconds, and then add the Shaoxing wine. After another 5 seconds, immediately add the chicken stock, rice wine vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sesame oil until everything’s at a simmer.
Gradually add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce while stirring constantly. Let simmer for 20 seconds. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon. Add the chicken and scallions, and toss until coated with sauce.
Garnish your sesame chicken with toasted sesame seeds and serve.
Baked Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into 1-inch/3cm chunks)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sesame paste
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
For the sauce:
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 3/4 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (mixed into a slurry with 2 tablespoons/30 ml water)
- 1 scallion chopped
Instructions
- Mix the chicken with the cornstarch, sesame paste, salt, and Shaoxing wine and set aside for 20 minutes. Then mix the flour, sesame seeds, and white pepper in a separate bowl. Preheat the oven to 475°F/250°C.
- Use your hands to mix the chicken and marinade until there is no standing liquid. Dredge the chicken pieces in the dry mixture, and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or nonstick foil. Bake at 475 degrees for 8 minutes on the top rack. Flip the chicken pieces and broil on low for 3 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven.
- Heat your wok to medium heat and add oil and garlic. Stir for 5 seconds, and then add the Shaoxing wine. After another 5 seconds, immediately add the chicken stock, rice wine vinegar, sugar, soy sauces, and sesame oil until everything’s at a simmer.
- Gradually add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce while stirring constantly. Let simmer for 20 seconds. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon. Add the chicken and scallions and toss until coated with sauce. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve.
