Better Than Takeout Sesame Chicken

Natalie, this looks delish! I pinned your orange chicken recipe the other day and have been meaning to try it. Adding this one on the list too!

Mmm this looks so delicious! I’ve never tried homemade sesame chicken, but now I need to! (PS. What widget do you use for your related posts?)

Thanks Aimee! I use Shareaholic :)

Whoa!!! All I can say is, wow! Made this tonight, and it made a lot I thought when putting it in the oven. Boy, with my two kiddos and hubby we almost licked the pan clean. Can’t wait to try your other Asian dishes, I’m sure they’ll be just as awesome!!

Wow! Thank you so much Karen! I plan on posting a few more over the next few months, so stay tuned :)

Is there a way that I can avoiding the frying all together? My family and I don’t eat fried food at all.

Sure, there are a few options… do you mean that you don’t want to fry it in oil, or want to avoid the breading all together?

I love your recipe, but I try my best to not eat a lot of fried foods. This is the best recipe I have found on Pinterest, so I would really like to try it, so can you tell me another way to cook the chicken without frying?

Thanks so much!

You could definitely skip the breading and just grill the cubed chicken and then bake it according to the directions, it would be a lot healthier that way :) I would suggest baking it though, as it will tenderize the chicken and cook/thicken the sauce. Please let me know how it turns out!

I made this the other night and I was skeptical at first because I tried making a general tsos chicken and it turned out horrible so when I told my family I was trying another dish like that they weren’t happy. so I had a lot on my shoulders for this meal…and oh my it turned out DELICIOUS!!! My family loved it and wished I made more of it!! I doubled the sauce recipe so I was able to pour extra on my rice and chicken!!! I was wondering do you have an orange chicken recipe that I could try? THANKS for sharing your recipe I know my family and I loved it =)

I love hearing that… we adore this recipe! And yes, I do have an orange chicken one (http://lifemadesimplebakes.com/2014/08/better-takeout-orange-chicken/), and it’s just as good if not better! I’m planning on doing a few other recipes this spring and summer, and general tso’s is one of them, so hopefully I’ll nail it on the first try!

Made this tonight and am sad to say I was disappointed. I love Sesame chicken, I order it whenever I go out for Chinese but the sauce tasted nothing like any Sesame I have had before. The chicken itself was really good, crispy but tender so I’ll probably make the chicken again and use a different sauce.

Sorry to hear that! I know sesame chicken is different just about everywhere you go! I hope you find a sauce you’ll enjoy :)

I’ve made this twice in 2 weeks now because I made it for just me and my brother but it was so good that I had to make it again for my mom. I’ve never had take out sesame chicken before so I didn’t really know what to expect but this is definitely one of my main go to recipes now.

I was confused when I first read through the post. At first I thought you had to coat the fried chicken with the cornstarch/water mixture and bake. After reading through the actual recipe, I felt much better! lol you add the cornstarch thickener to the sauce, THEN coat the chicken! Whew! Anxious to try this! Thanks!

Made this tonight, it was very delicious! The only thing is, my chicken was perfectly crispy but after baking it, it got soggy from the sauce.

Sorry to hear that! You can always make the sauce on the stovetop and heat until the cornstarch thickens it, then pour it over the crisp chicken.

I just bought a slow cooker and I’m really enjoying using it. Would it be OK to fry the chicken then throw everything in the slow cooker for a couple hours? Or is fried meat not good in the slow cooker?

Looking forward to trying your recipe!

I’m not exactly sure what it would do to the texture of the breading. I’d say as soon as you notice that the sauce is thick you’d want to take it out, otherwise you might end up with mush if it cooks for too long!

I was a little skeptical about baking the chicken in the unthickened sauce, but it totally worked! My husband, two sons, & I all had seconds and thirds and this recipe has been pronounced a “keeper.” I can’t wait to try your orange chicken recipe!

Thanks Catherine- I hope you love the orange chicken too :)

I made this today . My hubby daughter and son -in-law, and myself loved it. I made it with fried rice. Wow amazing thank you for this recipe.

I made this last night and it was great! I’d make it again, for sure, but think I’ll try the orange chicken recipe next. Thanks for sharing!

Hi. I’ve made this few times, and my kids love it! I started making it to save money! Question, is it ok to double down on ingredients? 1 1/2 pounds not enough for whole family, so I double the amount of chicken and sauce. It is in the oven now-will it still come out well? And do I need to cook it in oven longer, to thicken?

Are you using the same size dish? It make take a few minutes longer, I’d just check it at the given time and then do 10 minute increments from there :)

I made this recipe last night and my family absolutely loved it!! Probably our favourite chicken recipe we have ever tried!! I’m going to make the orange chicken next and can’t wait to fall in love with that recipe as well. Thank you for this delicious recipe!!!!!

I made this tonight and it was too salty, yet I didn’t directly put any salt in it. Any idea what I did wrong. I double checked and made sure I put garlic powder, not garlic salt, so that wasn’t my problem. I made beef and broccoli a few nights ago and had the same problem.

Maybe try low-sodium soy sauce?

This looks delicious, which means any dinner plan I had for tonight just went out the window! What brand of red chili paste do you use? I already have a red chili garlic sauce in my pantry by Huy Fong Foods who also make Sriracha, would that be acceptable?

Definitely, that’s the same kind I use! :)

I few weeks ago I shared two Chinese takeout-inspired dishes with you, today I’m back at it! Not has my orange chicken and sweet and sour chicken been huge hits at our house, but they’ve been exploding on Pinterest too! I love that :) One of my all-time favorite Chinese “chicken” dishes is sesame chicken. I love the flavor of the sauce, the tenderness of the chicken and all of those crunchy little seeds. It’s the best! But I’ve always been really afraid to make it at home (like most Chinese food), fearing that I’d end up incredibly disappointed & with a sink full of dirty dishes. After making this recipe I can honestly say there’s no reason not to make it at home! This recipe is so simple and tastes 100x better than takeout!

So let’s get started, shall we? First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees, lightly spray a 9×13 inch glass pan, set aside. Why? Well, we’re baking the chicken after it has been fried to help thicken the sauce and make the chicken extra tender. It’s a step I HIGHLY recommend, as it helps tenderize the chicken and thick up the sauce. It’s like watching magic happen right before your very eyes. Next, make the sauce- in a medium size mixing bowl (or a 2 c. measuring cup), whisk together the chicken broth, honey, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili paste, garlic powder and ground ginger. Yes, all of these ingredients are necessary, don’t omit any of them! Set the mixture aside and chop up your chicken into 1\u2033 cubes.

It’s really important to make sure that both your chicken and eggs are at room temperature. Frying with cold ingredients is not only dangerous but can result in tough stringy meat. Dip the cubed chicken into the eggs, then place into a ziplock bag (taking care to remove any excess egg) along with 1 c. of cornstarch. If you like tempura-style chicken, you can add a little bit of baking powder to the cornstarch to create extra pillowy little chicken nuggets- it’s totally optional. Place in the chicken (in batches) into the hot vegetable oil (I used my Le Creuset dutch oven) and fry for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and place into a paper towel lined plate to drain. When all of your chicken has been fried, place it into the prepared baking dish.

Stir the 1 tbsp. of cornstarch and the 1 tbsp. of water together to create a “slurry.” Pour over the chicken tossing gently to coat. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 40-45 minutes, stirring every 15 or so to keep the chicken coated and to prevent sticking. I think I baked mine a little too long, as my sauce was really thick and sticky. You want a little of it to still be on the bottom of the pan as it will thicken as it cools. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle with sesame seeds. I prefer mine toasted, but raw will work too :)

We served our chicken up with a side of rice and stir-fried vegetables. Stephen, who never likes sesame chicken said this was his favorite of the three I’ve made!!! That blew me away! We both really love it! And like I’ve mentioned before, the pictures don’t quite do it justice (Chinese food is incredibly difficult to photograph!!!) but that doesn’t mean it isn’t delicious. I hope you’ll give this better than takeout sesame chicken at try, you’re going to love it!!!

Original article and pictures take http://lifemadesimplebakes.com/2014/10/better-takeout-sesame-chicken/ site