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Sesame Chicken- Chinese at Home

Posted on 07/07/2010 by Maura

Errika is one of my favorite people to cook with.  She likes the same dishes as me, she is a great cook herself, and she always supplies the wine  Yesterday we got together to make this meal and she not only supplied the wine, but picked up the groceries and made some egg rolls for an appetizer.  I’m always starving when I get off of work so that was a nice little treat!  For dessert she made a Chocolate-Peanut Butter Icebox cake, which was really for her three year anniversary today, but Jason let us eat it a day early!  Everything tasted amazing and surpassed my expectations.  It even came together very quickly, which is unusual for Chinese food, so it was perfect for a weeknight meal!

The original recipe I used instructed me to marinate the chicken in a sauce thickened with flour, cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda.  The result was soft chicken without a nice, crunchy crust.  While the taste was still great, it didn’t have the right texture for me, so I adapted the recipe as shown below to achieve a more authentic Sesame Chicken taste and texture.  The recipe below should be perfect and remind you of a version from a nice Chinese restaurant!

Enjoy!

Sesame Chicken

Recipe by Recipezaar, generously adapted by Maura Dieringer

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

Chicken:

3 boneless, skinless chicken  breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup flour

Sauce:

1/2 cup water

1 cup chicken broth

1/8 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons chili paste

1 garlic clove, minced

Frying:

4 cups vegetable oil

Serving:

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

rice, prepared according to package instructions

broccoli, steamed

Instructions

In a large bowl, toss the chicken with the egg, vegetable oil, cornstarch and flour.

Line a plate with paper towels and set aside.  In a large saucepan, heat the oil over high heat for five minutes.  Reduce the heat back to medium-high and add half of the chicken.  Cook until the outside is golden brown and the inside is white all the way through.  Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and place on the paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.  Add the second batch of chicken to the oil and repeat.

Meanwhile, add all of the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil.  Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to low.  Be sure the sauce doesn’t burn.

Once all the chicken is cooked through, add the chicken to the sauce and toss to coat completely.  Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve over rice and broccoli.

Enjoy!

About Maura

I have a secret: I cannot do anything in moderation. I always have to take things to the extreme, at the expense of my own and my family's sanity and often times my dad’s checkbook. When I started taking horseback riding lessons, I insisted on having a pony. When I ice skated for probably the second time, I made my mom buy me ice skates that were never again worn. When I thought I wanted to be a teacher, I made my parents turn one of the rooms in the basement into a school room, stocked with an overhead projector, pull-down maps and a real, classroom-sized chalkboard and white board. When I discovered cooking I bossed my older sister around in the kitchen for an entire day, forcing her to make dozens of recipes with me against her will and then had her do all the dishes (sorry Cait). And, when I discovered food blogs I bought the biggest binder I could find, printed out 250 recipes in one day and laminated and categorized each one. My dad was not happy about the ink situation. So, what does this tell you about me? For one, you can trust that every recipe I post is more than delicious and has been meticulously tried and tested for you. Also, that I’m an anal freak. Enjoy! View all posts by Maura → This entry was posted in Chinese, Dinner, Lunch, Quick & Easy Meals. Bookmark the permalink. ← Chocolate-Banana-Marshmallow “Sandwich” Peanut Butter-Brownie Bites →