Sesame chicken

Chinese cuisine

Sesame chicken is very similar to General Tso’s chicken. Its origin is probably from the Hunan part of China although it is clear that the recipe has been Americanized. Although I have recipes for both, I generally prefer my sesame chicken recipe. The chili paste taste is much more pronounced in this dish.

Ingredients (serves 6):

• 3 tablespoons – sesame seeds
• 6 – chicken breast halves, skinless and boneless, cut into about 1-inch cubes
• 4 cups – canola oil (healthier than peanut oil)

Chicken batter

• 4 tablespoons – soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons – cooking wine (sherry)
• ½ teaspoon – sesame seed oil
• 4 tablespoons – water
• 4 tablespoons – cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons – all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon – baking powder
• ½ teaspoon – baking soda
• 2 teaspoons – peanut oil

Sauce

• 1 cup – water
• 2 cups – chicken broth
• ½ cup – rice vinegar
• ½ cup – cornstarch
• 1 ½ cups – sugar
• 4 tablespoons – soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons – sesame seed oil
• 5 teaspoons – chili paste
• 2 cloves – garlic, finely minced

• 4 to 5 cups – cooked Chinese rice
• About 12 small broccoli heads cooked – salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Place the sesame seeds in a pan over medium heat and heat until the seeds brown, about 2 to 3 minutes (see photo). Remove from the heat and set aside.

Sesame seeds browning

Heat the oil over high heat to 350 degrees F.

Meanwhile, prepare the chicken and place in a large bowl. Add the chicken batter ingredients in another bowl and stir them together. Pour over the chicken and mix to coat the chicken (see photo). Allow the chicken to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Marinating chicken

While you are waiting for the oil to heat and the chicken to marinate, mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and then add them to a pan (see photo). Bring to a boil over high heat stirring continuously. Once the mixture begins to boil, turn the heat to low and begin cooking the chicken.

Sauce before cooking

Sauce after cooking – note how it thickens and turns reddish brown.

Working in batches (3 batches – make sure that you heat the oil back up to 350 degrees F before you add another batch of chicken) add the chicken piece by piece to the oil being careful not to splash the scalding oil on you. Fry the chicken until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes (see photo). The chicken will have a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan so make sure you stir the oil to free all the chicken so it floats in the oil while it cooks. Remove the chicken from the oil with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel to drain.

Chicken frying

Once the final batch of chicken is cooking, bring the sauce to boil again while stirring. Place the cooked chicken on a platter and pour the sauce over it. Add the sesame seeds over the chicken and sauce and serve immediately.

Serve with Chinese rice and broccoli. Enjoy!

J. Botticelli