This Sesame Chicken Recipe is better than take-out! Simple crispy chicken & stir fry veggies in a sweet and savoury sauce! Ready in 30 minutes!
Sesame Chicken Recipe
We love a good weeknight meal here at The Busy Baker, especially meals made in 30 minutes or less with minimal dishes to wash. This Sesame Chicken is one of our favourite quick and easy meals – crispy chicken pan fried with stir fried veggies in a simple sweet and savoury sauce. Serve it over some rice and you’ve got a delicious and wholesome meal everyone will love!
More Easy Weeknight Meals
We’ve shared so many easy weeknight meals with you already, like these Easy Korean Beef Rice Bowls, this Easy One Pan Honey Garlic Shrimp recipe, and this Easy One Pan Kung Pao Chicken Pasta.
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Kitchen Items Needed to Make Honey Sesame Chicken
Here’s a list of helpful kitchen items for making this recipe (affiliate links):
- bowls for mixing ingredients
- a whisk
- a pair of tongs
- a sharp knife
- a cutting board
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups for liquid ingredients
- a heavy bottom frying pan or skillet
- a rice cooker or pot for cooking rice
- a garlic press
- a microplane zester/grater
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Sesame Chicken Recipe Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe:
- chicken breasts
- fresh garlic
- soy sauce
- sesame oil
- rice vinegar
- egg
- all purpose flour
- cornstarch
- vegetable oil
- carrots
- green onions
- chicken stock
- honey
- water
How to Make Sesame Chicken
Time needed: 30 minutes
Follow these steps to make this recipe!
- Marinate the chicken.
Marinating the chicken, even for a few minutes, makes a big difference in the flavour of this dish!
- Cook the rice.
Set the rice to cook while you prepare the rest of the recipe. That way, when the stir fry is done the rice will be done too!
- Thinly slice the veggies.
Cut down on cooking time by slicing the carrots and green onions very thinly.
- Measure out the sauce ingredients in advance.
Measure the ingredients for the sauce and whisk them together, setting the sauce aside.
- Brown the chicken first, then remove it from the pan.
Cook the chicken on its own, removing it to a plate before stir frying the veggies.
- Stir fry the veggies, then add the sauce ingredients.
Once the veggies are almost softened, add the sauce ingredients and let the sauce thicken over the heat.
- Add the chicken in last.
Add the cooked chicken back to the pan and toss well with the veggies and the sauce.
What is sesame chicken?
Sesame chicken is a Chinese-style stir fry made with slightly crispy chicken with a sweet and savoury sauce. It’s commonly found in Chinese restaurants in North America.
What is in sesame chicken?
Sesame chicken is made with chicken, vegetables, and a sweet soy-sauce based sauce.
Is sesame chicken healthy?
Making sesame chicken at home is a healthier choice than enjoying it from a restaurant because you can limit the amount of fat and sugar added to the recipe.
Can I make this recipe ahead of time?
Yes, although because the chicken should be crispy it’s best enjoyed right after it’s made (the chicken loses its crispiness as it sits in the sauce).
We hope you love this recipe as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite easy weeknight meal recipe that’s better than take-out! We’d love to know!
Looking for more recipes like this one? You’ll LOVE these:
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Let us do the work for you with 11 WEEKS of deliciously easy family dinners, grocery lists, meal prep guides and so much MORE!
11 weeks of done-for-you family meal plans for only $9.99!
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Sesame Chicken
Recipe: Equipment
Recipe: Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
For the marinade:
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 egg
For the crispy coating:
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
For cooking:
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil for frying
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 carrots thinly sliced on a bias
- 3 spring onions thinly sliced on a bias
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger finely minced
For the Sauce:
- 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cups soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Recipe: Instructions
- Cut the chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch pieces, keeping the shape and size of the chicken pieces as consistent as possible for even cooking
- Mix together the marinade ingredients. Add the chicken pieces. Marinate for at least 10 minutes (OR leave in the fridge overnight for even more flavour)
- Add the cornstarch and flour to a bowl, whisk together and set aside.
- Thinly slice the carrots and spring onions, along with the ginger and garlic and set them aside.
- Measure out the sauce ingredients, whisk them together in a bowl, and set aside.
- Add the chicken pieces along with the marinade to the bowl with the flour-cornstarch mixture and toss them well to coat completely.
- Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add in the chicken so the bottom of the pan is covered but not overcrowded. You may have to cook the chicken pieces in 2 batches, depending on the size of your pan.
- Flip the chicken pieces once they start to brown.
- When the chicken pieces are browned on both sides and the internal temperature measures 74 degrees Celsius (165 Fahrenheit), remove them to a plate lined with paper towel and repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Once all the chicken is cooked, discard the vegetable oil and wipe the pan.
- Add the sesame oil to the skillet or wok and heat up over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook just until fragrant. Add the chopped veggies (save some green onions for garnish) to the skillet and sauté for just a few moments until the carrots and onions start to brown slightly and soften just a little bit.
- Whisk the sauce ingredients together one more time (because the cornstarch tends to settle). Add the sauce ingredients into the hot pan with the veggies. Cook until the sauce thickens.
- Add the chicken pieces back in and toss everything together with the sesame seeds. Serve over rice with green onions and more sesame seeds for garnish (if desired).
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.